Decisive Mission
by ZombieRedfox
Summary: Gajeel learns that Levy has been kidnapped by Raven Tail, but for reasons unknown. Makarov entrusts Gajeel with rescuing Levy and without blowing his cover as a double agent.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, I'm back for another shot at this. **

**First of all thank you to everyone and their kind words about my first fanfic. This new one will be longer, no one-shot deal here. **

**Hope you enjoy it :D**

_Throughout the chaos and confusion that was going on between Fairy Tail and Raven Tail Gajeel finally made his way to the small blue haired girl lying on the floor, unconscious and wounded. Despite his own injuries he knelt down and carefully scooped Levy up into his arms, holding her close to him. He stood up, gathered up his strength and tried to make his way out of Raven Tails hideout with Levy. How could any of this have happened? He never should have left Levy alone..._

* * *

PantherLily flew throughout Magnolia searching desperately for his partner, Gajeel. "Where the hell is he?" he mumbled. He could never find Gajeel when it was an urgent matter. Lily checked all of Gajeel's usual hangout spots but had no luck. Finally, after almost 30 minutes of searching, he looked down and saw the Iron Dragon, walking alone down the streets of Magnolia.

"Gajeel!" Lily yelled out as he swooped down to the dragon. Gajeel stopped in his tracks and looked up to his partner flying towards him.

"Oi, Lily. What the hell is the rush?" he asked the black Exceed. Lily hovered in front of Gajeel and looked around.

"Levy's not with you I see?" he commented and shook is head. "Nevermind, Master Makarov is looking for you...he says it's important." Something important? Gajeel looked at Lily and nodded and made his way to the guild as fast as he could with Lily following close behind. When Gajeel reached the guild he headed directly towards Makarov's office in the back of the guild.

"Wait here" he said to the Exceed. PantherLily nodded and took a seat at the corner of the bar and waited for Gajeel to return. Gajeel walked down a hallway and stopped in front of the door at the very end of it. He hesitantly knocked on Makarov's door, Gajeel knew this must have been something related to his double agent duty.

"Enter" Gajeel heard, coming from inside the office. He opened the door and entered, closing the door and taking a seat. There sat Makarov with his hands crossed, practically hidden behind the rather large desk. He seemed to have been waiting on Gajeel to arrive.

"I heard you wanted to see me Master. What can I do for you?" he asked the old, short guild master. Makarov closed his eyes and was silent for a moment.

"...we have a situation on our hands" he said to the Iron Dragon. "I take it you are aware that Levy McGarden went on a mission two days ago, am I correct?" Gajeel nodded but was wondering why this meeting was about Levy. "I received news from the client who sent us the request saying that he saw Levy being taken by several suspicious people...people from Raven Tail." Makarov said with his head lowered.

Gajeel's eyes widened when he heard this.

"What?! Raven Tail?! How in the hell could this have happened?! If that bastard(son of yours,) Ivan hurt her in any way I'll..." he shouted as he jumped up out of his seat but was cut short when Makarov raised his hand. Makarov looked at him sternly.

"As I had suspected, you and Levy McGarden have gotten rather close to each other have you not?" Gajeel clinched his teeth and turned his head away, "Well I must say that I am glad that you have opened up more, my boy, espcially to someone like Levy. However, I fear that she might be put at risk should Ivan find out you're a double agent."

Gajeel quickly turned to look at Makarov.

"You don't think that he's..." Gajeel started to ask but saw Makarov shaking his head.

"No, I do not believe this kidnapping has anything to do with you being a double agent. I have heard rumors that Ivan has recently been looking for some kind of artifact...something that would require deciphering from a person like Levy" the old Master said. "Then why take Levy? Why not any other mage who can read ancient languages and runes?" Gajeel asked puzzled. He could see Makarov clinch his fist "He more than likely did it to get to me! He knew taking one of my children would anger me more than anything!" he said loudly.

Gajeel's eyes narrowed.

There was a moment of silence between the two mages. Gajeel finally broke the silence between them. "What's the plan? How are we going to get Levy back without blowing my cover?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Alrighty, another chapter ready for you guys. This one is a little longer than the starter. Also I forgot to mention that this story supposedly takes place after their return from Tenrou Island. That might be helpful ;)**

**Thanks to piranha pk, I Am A Freaking Epic Ninja, CupCakesYummeh, Coraline Mcgarden, D4sssy and Yankee-Chan for your reviews of Chapter 1. :D**

_It had been a while since Levy took on a mission all by herself. She needed a break from Jet and Droy's smothering ever since she and the others returned from Tenroujima. This one was right up Levy's alley and she accomplished it rather easily. Levy had just bid the client farewell and was one her way to the train station when she heard someone approach her from behind..._

Levy woke up in a small, dark room. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around, trying to get her eyes to focus. "Where am I" she mumbled. Levy then realized that she was lying on cot that was pushed up againse a wall. She laid there waiting for her eyes to adjust to what little light there was coming through the door that led into the room she was in. She sat up on the cot and looked around the room more closely. There were no windows in the room. That could only mean one thing she thought as she looked down and noticed a pair of shackles on her wrists.

"I...I was captured? But why?" she asked herself. Leve placed her head into her cupped hands, trying to remember anything that happened to her. All she could remember was finishing her mission and heading to the train station. "Someone must have used magic on me" she muttered.

Levy stood up, determined to find out what she was doing here and why. She walked over to the door and placed her ear upon it. She couldn't hear anyone or anything on the other side. She backed away from the door, thinking she could try magic to break free. Levy held out her hands and shouted "SOLID SCRIPT FIRE!"

...Nothing.

"What? Why isn't my magic working?!" she said with slight panic. Trapped in a room with no means of escape and not able to use magic? This wasn't looking good already. Levy inspected the shackles on her and noticed some very small writing on them.

"Runes? Someone is using runes to nullify my magic?" she said with despair. She looked at the door, anger and frustration rising up within her. Levy began banging on the door and yelling in an attempt to get a response from anyone who might be out there, whether they be friend or foe. After several minutes and no response, Levy backed away and made her back over to the cot she woke up on. She sat down, resting her back against the wall and pulled her knees up to her. She whimpered as she buried her face in between them. "...Somebody...please..."

* * *

As the train departed from Magnolia's station, Gajeel sat in his seat with his arms crossed an staring out the window. All he could think of was Levy and if she was ok. Across from him sat PantherLily who was mimicing Gajeel, only he was staring at his partner sternly. Gajeel could sense the black Exceeds stare but tried to ignore it. Finally after 15 minutes of silent staring Gajeel turned to PantherLily.

"Alright, spit it out cat! I know something is bothering you!" Gajeel shouted to PantherLily, who just sat there with his eyes narrowing more at the iron dragon.

"We've been partners for some time now, right?" PantherLily finally spoke. "Did it ever occur to you that I should have been made aware of your double agent job. Gajeel?" PantherLily was rather upset that his partner has been hiding such a secret form him.

Gajeel rolled his eyes. "There's a reason that you, nor anyone else, needs to know about it" he said. "It would out the guild at risk but more importantly it eould put my life at risk" he said calmly to his partner.

PantherLily closed his eyes and looked down. "I suppose you have a point" he said. "But you still should have told me...I am your partner after all."

"Well, now you know. So don't mention anything about this to anyone...especially Levy" he said as he went back to looking out the window.

* * *

_Makarov explained in detail his plan for Gajeel to get Levy back safely from Raven Tail. After Gajeel agreed to everything he left Makarov's office and headed back into the guild. PantherLily was still sitting at the corner of the bar, waiting for his partner to come back. He saw Gajeel turn the corner and he quickly stood up. "What was that all about?" he asked Gajeel. "Is there something wrong?"_

_Gajeel looked down at his partner and sighed. "Come one Lily...we've been assigned an important mission and I've got a lot of explaining to do" he said, motioning for the black Exceed to follow him. _

_The two headed back to their place and packed for their trip. "Gajeel, what exactly is going on? I've never seen you like this" PantherLily asked. Gajeel tied up his travel bag and sat down. "Alright...this isn't going to be easy to explain but I have no choice but to tell you." he said as he began to explain everything to PantherLily about his role as a double agent, Levy's disappearance and Makarov's plan._

_PantherLily sat there and listened to everything the iron dragon had to say with eyes wide. He couldn't believe what he was hearing or how to respond. Instead PantherLily closed his eyes, stood up and made his way to the door. "Well...what are we waiting for" he said, waiting on Gajeel._

* * *

The train arrived at their destination which was a small town about a day's journey from Magnolia. Gajeel and PantherLily exited the train station and searched for an inn so they could stay the night and rest up for their journey on the next day.

Tomorrow's destination would be Raven Tail's hideout. Since this was the closest town they could travel to by train the two would have to continue the rest of the way on foot into the Barren Mountains. It would be a long trip but one that had to be made.

After the two got settled into their room for the night, Gajeel decided he would go over the plan with PantherLily as to how he was going to get into Raven Tail without raising suspicion. "When we get to their hideout tomorrow you're going to have to follow my lead exactly or the plan won't work. We have to convince everyone that you're a suitable candidate to join Raven Tail." Gajeel said.

PantherLily's mouth hung open. "You expect me to pretend that I'm a Raven Tail member?" he said, practically yelling. Gajeel nodded at his partner. "Why not, I've been doing that all this time. So can you." PantherLily closed his mouth and nodded. "You make a valid point...continue please" he said to his partner.

"Once we get inside just stay close to me until we reach Ivan. After that it will just be a matter of convincing him that you're a more than suitable member for Raven Tail" Gajeel continued explaining the plan. "Once he sees that you're worthy of being a member we can move about more freely inside their hideout. That will make it easier for us to find Levy and get her out!"

PantherLily nodded in agreeance with the plan. "Do we know why the kidnapped Levy in the first place?" he asked Gajeel. The dragon shook his head, "I don't...but I intend to find out. When we gain enough trust from Ivan and find out why they took her then we let Master Makarov know using this" he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small communications Lacrima.

"This is a very risky plan Gajeel...for you and for Levy. Do you really think that we will be able to pull it off?" PantherLily asked Gajeel.

"We're going to try our damndest to get her out of there. One way or the other, no matter what, I'm going to save her. I promised that I would protect her and I'm not backing out on that!" he said with great determination in his voice.

PantherLily smiled when he heard Gajeel say this. He knew for some time now that Gajeel had a soft spot for Levy and this mission just proved it even more...Gajeel was in love with Levy.

"Well then let's rest up" PantherLily said as he made a spot to sleep at the end of the bed. "We've got a really big day tomorrow. We have to go and rescue the damsel in distress, gi hee" PantherLily said teasing the dragon.

Gajeel couldn't believe what he just heard the Exceed say. "...just shut the hell up cat" he said as he laid down on the bed and closed his eyes. As he did PantherLily could have sworn he saw Gajeel's face turn a light shade of red.

* * *

Levy was unaware that she had fallen asleep. She awoke to the sound of a door slamming and footsteps coming down a corridor. As she sat up quickly the door to her room opened up and light poured in.

A figure appeared in the doorway as Levy placed her hand in front of her eyes, trying to make out who it was. "I see that you're awake now fairy-chan" the figure spoke as it came into the room. Levy lowered her hand to see a tall, bearded man staring sinisterly at her.

"Who are you and why am I here?" she asked in a demanding tone.

"How dare you speak to Master Ivan that way!" a voice shouted out. Levy looked behind the man to see that the voice came from a woman who was now standing in the doorway.

"Now, now Flare-chan. There's no need for any of that" he said looking back at the woman. Flare Corona, the woman with long, braided red hair, went quiet as a look of fear came across her face.

"Master...Ivan?" Levy mumbled. She had heard the name before. "You're Master Makarov's son are you not!?" she asked. She had never seen the Master's son, she had only heard stories of him. Levy then realized the amount of trouble she was in if she was captured by Raven Tail. "What do you want with me? Are you trying to start trouble with Master Makarov and Fairy Tail?" she asked with a bit of fear behind her voice.

Ivan turned back around to look at Levy again. "Don't worry fairy-chan. All I require are your services" he said with a smirk. "If you do a good job I might consider letting you return to Fairy Tail with only minor damage to you" he said as he laughed.

Levy clinched her teeth as she heard him speak. "I will never do anything for you or your guild!" she shouted out.

With a grin on his his face, Ivan spoke, "Oh, you will fairy-chan...you will or you'll die" he said, turning to leave the room. "Flare-chan...why don't you stay and play with our guest some. You may remove her shackles this once if you would like for her to play back" he said and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Yes, Master Ivan. It would be my pleasure" Flare said, tilting her head with a sadistic grin appeared on her face. "Play time, little blue fairy!"


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm back with more. Hope you like it :D**

**Thanks to Yankee-Chan, piranha pk, EED-Wolf, xXMadNinjaSkillzXx, Iblis jr, Xeylah, Ace and poki for your reviews!**

Morning came quickly as Gajeel and PantherLily left the inn they were staying at, and were off on their long journey to Raven Tail's hideout. Gajeel could only hope that Levy was ok until he could get her out of there. PantherLily could tell that Gajeel was greatly worried about the script mage.

"Have you ever considered telling Levy how you feel about her," the black Exceed finally asked. It was pretty obvious to him that Gajeel was in love with her, but being the proud Dragon Slayer that he was, he could never admit it.

"What the hell are you getting at cat," Gajeel snarled at his partner who was sitting on his shoulder. PantherLily shurgged.

"I'm just saying that if you have these feelings for her, which I know you do, you should tell her," he said, almost demanding. "I've seen how you act towards her whenever she's around you."

Gajeel was silent in thought. The idea of him being in love was something he could never fathom. But deep down inside the dragon knew that PantherLily was right. He did have strong feelings for Levy.

She was the only one who seemed to understand him. Her, the one who he had once beaten up and crucified to a tree, was the only one who could see past everything and could still care for him they way she did. Her, who had saved him on Tenroujima during the fight with Grimoire Heart, and always made him feel at ease. So maybe it was love he felt towards Levy...

"Maybe you're right," he finally said, breaking the silence between the him and Lily. "Maybe it's about time I said something."

A smile came across the Exceeds face. He seemed satified that the dragon was actually going to listen to him and confess to Levy...as soon as they saved her.

* * *

Flare looked down at Levy who was lying on the floor in front of her.

"Well that wasn't much fun as I hoped it would be, Little Blue Fairy," she said, looking sadisticly at Levy. "Next time I come back I expect more of a fight from you" she said, laughing as she left the room and locking the door behind her.

Levy laid there on the ground, exhausted and bruised from Flare's so-called play time. The red haired woman of Raven Tail made Levy fight against her, but under the circumstances, Levy proved no match for the maniacal mage. The bluenette gathered her strength and lifter herself up to her feet. She stood there, shaking in fear of what Master Ivan had in store for her. What could he possible need or want with her?

Levy slowly made her way over to the cot against the wall, her left arm seemed to have been hurt badly by Flare as a sharp pain was sent up her arm. She sat down and looked silently at the floor. She wanted to cry but she held back the tears, trying to keep up her strength. All she could do was wait and hope that Fairy Tail knew she was missing and would send someone to come for her.

* * *

Several hours passed for Gajeel and PantherLily as they stopped to rest for a moment. Gajeel pulled out several small pieces of scrap iron to munch on as PantherLily ate one of the many kiwis he brought with him. The two ate in silence when Gajeel suddenly stood up and looked around.

"What is it, Gajeel?" The Exceed looked up, and asked with his guard up.

The Dragon Slayer looked down and motioned for his partner to keep quiet and duck down behind the rocks they were sitting on. Off in the distance Gajeel could see something floating towards them. As it came closer into view, the Exceed could see that it was a small figure-like piece of paper. He had no idea what this thing was, but apparently Gajeel did. He almost seemed to be expecting it. The paper figure hovered in front of Gajeel and a voice seemed to emanate from it...it was a voice Gajeel was all too familiar with.

"It is good to see you again Gajeel-chan" the voice said, coming from the shikigami. "I trust that you have readjusted to everything since you're return from Tenroujima?"

"...Master Ivan" Gajeel said in a gruff voice "I am well."

"That is good to hear" ths voice came again. "I would like for you to pay me a visit. I have something to discuss with you" the Raven Tail Master said.

Gajeel paused for a moment, "Well, it seems that I just got done with a job I was on, so I can make it to you by days end" he said.

"Splendid, I expect to see you soon, Gajeel-chan." With the the shikigami tore itself up into shreds.

When Gajeel gave the all clear he motioned for PatnherLily to come out from behind the rocks.

"What was that all about?" the Exceed asked.

"Ivan's little way of a friendly hello" he said gritting his teeth. For some reason Ivan's shikigami could always find him no matter where he was. But the guild master made no mention of Levy or what he wanted Gajeel for. Surely he wasn't on to Gajeel and Makarov's plan so it must have been about something else. Perhaps it was about why he kidnapped Levy in the first place.

"Break's over...let's get going. We've got a lot of ground to cover before day's end" the dragon said, picking up his travel bag and throwing it over his shoulder. PantherLily grabbed his small bag and put it on his back. He floated up to Gajeel and took a seat back on his shoulder as the two continued their trip.

PantherLily could tell that the little visit from Ivan's shikigami seemed to have upset Gajeel even more than he was letting on.

"I'm sure Levy is alright Gajeel. If Ivan needed her for something he would be foolish to harm her in anyway" he said, looking at his partner.

"...I hope you're right Lily" Gajeel said as he picked up his pace.

* * *

Hours had passed and Levy was still sitting on the cot in the room. She finally managed to stop shaking but she was still afraid of what would happen to her. She only wished she knew why she was here. Her mind began to wander while she sat there. She thought about her best friend Lucy and her teammates Jet and Droy, wondering if she would get to see them again. She thought of Master Makarov, hoping that he knew one of his children was missing. And she thought about...Gajeel.

This wasn't he first time Gajeel popped into her thoughts. She had often thought of him since he has been in the guild. It's true that their first metting had been a rocky one, but sicne then Gajeel has proven himself to be a loyal member of Fairy Tail and a trusted friend she had come to care about.

Cared about...something she herself had never expected. Levy had come to care about him as more than a friend. Truth is that she had deep feelings for the iron dragon but was too shy and timid to ever say anything to him. That and what would he think or say if she did...would he laugh? Would he just shrug it off as nothing? Or would he actually say the same thing in return? All of these things ran through her mind everytime she thought about Gajeel Redfox. A faint smile appeared on her face as she thought more and more about him. She could only hope that she would be able to tell him how she felt.

Suddenly Levy heard the loud sound of a door opening and then closing, followed by footsteps. The smile that she had quickly went to a grimace. She immediately sat up knowing that someone was coming, and was on guard. The door opened slowly, letting the light pour in, and she could see the shape of Master Ivan standing in the doorway. He walked into her room and over towards Levy.

The guild Master placed his hand on her chin, examining the marks left by Flare.

"My, my, my...it seems that Flare had fun playing with you, fairy-chan" he said looking down at the frightened girl. Levy gritted her teeth and shook her head free from Ivan's hand.

"What do you want with me?!" she yelled out, asking him again.

Ivan laughed, "I told you, in due time you will find out. But worry not fairy-chan, I have a visitor coming to see you soon" he said with a twisted smile on his face.

A visitor? Could he have kidnapped someone else from Fairy Tail? Levy looked at him with a confused and startled expression on her face as the guild Master turned to leave the room. All Levy could now think about was that some other poor soul was caught by Raven Tail and was going to end up like her...a prisoner of this maniac.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks to SakuraIchigoDark, Shikuro-Chan 12, poki-grzyb, piranha pk and Yankee-Chan for your reviews :D**

After hours and hours of tiresome walking, the pair stood at the top of a large mound of rocks. Gajeel could see their destination on the horizon. It appeared to be a run down manor made out of stones and bricks.

"So that is Raven Tail's hideout," PantherLily questioned, "Not exactly what I had expected it to look like."

"This is their current hideout" Gajeel corrected. "Their main base is nowhere near here. Ivan likes to make sure no one knows it's exact location, which is why he has several places like this scattered about Fiore."

PantherLily rubbed his chin, "Well that seems to make some sense. And I assume that you know where this main location is at?" he asked curiously.

Gajeel smirked, "Of course I do. I'm a spy after all, gi hee."

The small cat sighed, he should have known the answer to that question. There was no doubt that his partner was indeed good at what he does. PantherLily looked to the sky, "It's already sunset. We should probably hurry up of we plan to be there by nightfall, like you said" he suggested.

Gajeel nodded as he picked up his pace. Soon they would be at Raven Tail and able to find Levy and make sure she was ok.

* * *

It wasn't long before Gajeel and PantherLily made their way towards the massive doors of Raven Tail's hideout. Up in one of the tower windows Ivan looked out and could see that Gajeel had arrived.

"Go and welcome our guests, Nullpudding-chan," the guild master said to a short man standing behind him. "Bring him to me when you do" he added before Nullpudding left the guild master's office.

The dragon banged on the large doors and waited for someone to open them. He crossed his arms as PantherLily did the same, still sitting on his shoulder. "Remember, just follow my lead and everything will be fine" he said quietly to the Exceed.

Suddenly the doors flew open as the short man from Ivan's office stood in front of Gajeel, looking up at him. "Ah, Gajeel...you're right on time" Nullpuding said with a sinister grin that always seemed to be present on his face. He noticed the small cat on his shoulder. "What is this? You don't seem like the type to have a pet, Gajeel-san. Does the little kitty want a cat toy?" he said teasing the dragon and his partner. PantherLily narrowed his eyes at the comments made towards him.

"_He__,_ is none of your concern at the moment" Gajeel snarled as he walked past the short man and into the building. He stopped and waited for Nullpuding to close the doors. "Now if you don't mind, you're wasting my time with these stupid questions. Take me to Ivan, he's waiting for me" he said in a demanding and fearsome tone.

The grin that was on on Nulpudding's face dropped as he walked out in front of the dragon. "...This way" he said, motioning for Gajeel to follow.

PantherLily was surprised when he saw this side of Gajeel. He had never seen his friend be as intimidating as he was right now._ "So this is how it is to be a member of this guild" _he thought to himself as if taking mental notes.

After climbing several flights of stairs the trio made their way down a long hallway. There was a woman heading in their direction who had a creepy smile on her face. "Oh, well if it isn't the Master's favorite," she said teasingly.

"...Flare" Gajeel muttered. "You got a problem with me being more important in this guild than you?" he asked while giving a menacing glare.

The red haired woman's grin faded as a look of fear came across her face. She knew who Gajeel was and knew just how strong he was. Flare also knew just what kind of role he played in Raven Tail...he was definitely one to not cross. So she continued on her way down the flight of steps without so much as another word.

* * *

Ivan waited in his office with his hands behind his back, still standing at the window. There was a knock at the door, causing him to turn his head slightly towards the direction of the door. "Enter, Nullpudding-chan," he called.

Nullpudding opened the door slowly and entered the room. "Master Ivan, I have brought Gajeel to you as you requested" he said, bowing to his Master.

"You have done well...now leave us," he said without even turning around.

The short man continued bowing as he backed out of the room and closed the door behind him. After several seconds Ivan turned around to face Gajeel.

"Gajeel-chan, so nice of you to visit us on such short notice" Ivan said with a grin on his face.

The dragon clenched his teeth and started playing the part of an obedient member of Raven Tail. He bowed his head, "Master Ivan, it was no problem at all" he said. He raised his head back up and looked at the Raven Tail Master. "What is so important that you called me here so suddenly?" he asked.

Ivan walked away from the window and around his desk towards Gajeel. "What's more important is this creature you have with you, Gajeel-chan" he said examining the Exceed. "You know the rules of my guild, not outsiders are permitted," he said, acknowledging PantherLily not as a pet but as a person.

PantherLily hopped off Gajeel's shoulder and spread his wings, floating next to him. "This is my partner, PantherLily. I thought he would make a nice addition to Raven Tail and will be helpful with spying on Fairy Tail as well" he said, crossing his arms.

Ivan looked at the floating cat curiously. "Oh? Is that what you think?" he said as he walked around the pair. "And what makes you think I have any interest in a cute little kitty as a member of my guild?" he asked suspiciously.

Gajeel turned his head to his partner and nodded. "Show him" he said.

PantherLily lowered himself to the ground. The minute his feet touched the ground he shifted into his battle form, taking Ivan by surprise. The Exceed reached behind his back and unsheathed the sword that was strapped to his back. The sword grew twice its size as the now huge black cat gripped the sword and stared at the Raven Tail master menacingly.

The guild master clapped his hands slowly. "Very interesting," he said to PantehrLily. "I must say that I am impressed with what I've seen so far." Ivan ran his fingers through his beard as he thought. "Very well, Gajeel-chan. You're little friend may assist you with your duty for Raven Tail" he said as he placed a hand on Gajeel's shoulder in approval.

After hearing this PantherLily sheathed his sword and returned to his normal size. "Thank you, Master Ivan" he said while bowing, playing the part just as Gajeel Exceed floated back up and took his place once again on Gajeel's shoulder.

Ivan looked at the black cat and grinned. "I believe you will make a fine addition to Raven Tail" he said as he turned around and walked back over to his desk.

Gajeel was starting to feel impatient. He wanted to make sure Levy was here. "Master Ivan, about my being called here..." he said, reminding Ivan of the real purpose of this visit.

"Ah yes, of course Gajeel-chan" he said as he turned back around to face the dragon. "I will soon have in my possession a very old, yet powerful Grimoire. This book is so ancient that very few people are able to translate the contents that dwell within its pages" he said as he paced back and forth in front of the desk. "I needed someone who could translate it for me so I took it upon myself to acquire such a person from Fairy Tail."

PantherLily could feel Gajeel tensing up as the guild master spoke. Levy...so this is why the bastard kidnapped her. The Exceed flexed a paw on Gajeel's shoulder as if telling him to calm down and not lose his cool.

"Oh?" Gajeel asked. The guild master stopped pacing when he heard Gajeel speak and stood in front of him, looking at the dragon.

"Has my father noticed the disappearance of anyone from his guild, Gajeel? More specifically, the disappearance of the short blue haired girl?" Gajeel knew Ivan was serious in tone, he didn't say -chan after his name like he always does. The grin had disappeared off his face as well.

"No Master Ivan. To my knowledge everyone thinks that Levy McGarden is still on the job request she took a couple of days ago" he said calmly.

A grin appeared on Ivan's face once again. "Good" he said as he walked towards the door. "Now come, Gajeel-chan. There is someone here who I'm sure would love to see you" he said sadistically as he opened the door and walked out, motioning for Gajeel and PantherLily to follow.

_"Someone wants to see me? Could he be talking about Levy? What in the hell is he planning?"_ the dragon asked himself but followed behind Ivan.


	5. Chapter 5

**Every time I finish one chapter I start writing the next ones so quickly...I can't seem to stop so the chapters will probably continue to come out pretty quickly :P**

**But thanks to Rocktulador, poki-grzyb, Yankee-Chan, Xeylah, nerdalertxD and SakuraIchigoDark for your ongoing reviews :D Enjoy this new chapter :D**

Gajeel and PantherLily followed Ivan down the hallway and to the staircase that brought them up. They had no idea where the guild master was leading them as the descended down several flights. It felt like the were descending into hell.

They finally reached the bottom level where the encountered Flare once again. "M-Master Ivan!" she said, startled by the guild master.

"Flare-chan. Whatever are you doing down here?" he asked the red haired woman who at this point was looking nervous.

"I-I just wanted to play with the fairy some, M-Master" she said, stuttering and panicking. "Y-You said that I could!'

Gajeel stood there grimacing at Flare, his fists tightening and his teeth clinching. How he wanted to beat the living hell out of this sadistic woman, but he couldn't. But without warning Ivan raised his hand and struck the red head across her face. Flare fell to the ground, her hand up to her face where Ivan's hand made contact. She looked confused and frightened.

"I did indeed say that you could play with our guest earlier...I did not mean that you could at any time you so desired!" he said sternly as he glared at the woman on the ground before him.

"F-F-Forgive me Master Ivan! Please forgive me!" Flare said, begging for mercy. Gajeel couldn't help but smirk at the sight of Flare groveling at Ivan's feet.

Ivan stood there and folded his arms. "Get out of my sight, Flare. I will have a word with you later" he said as the red head quickly got up and ran off. "Now then Gajeel-chan, shall we continue?" he asked as looked over his shoulder at the dragon.

Gajeel nodded his head as Ivan continued to lead the dragon and his cat down a long, dark corridor. PantherLily jumped off of his shoulders and stood next to the stairs. "I will wait here and make sure no one interrupts your little visit" he said as he shifted into his battle form.

Ivan looked at the Exceed with a grin, "An excellent idea. You are already proving yourself worthy of Raven Tail" the guild master said as he and Gajeel turned to walk on.

As they walked he couldn't help but wonder what in the hell that woman was doing to Levy. He knew the bluenette could stand her ground but this was Raven Tail, not some ordinary dark guild. But more importantly he wondered how would Levy react to seeing him, especially since he was playing the part of a Raven Tail member.

* * *

Levy sat in the dark room. She didn't think Flare would ever leave. Thankfully she didn't try and play with her too much this time around. The bluenette only suffered a few cuts and bruises this time around but she never once cried out. She knew they were trying to break her so that she would help them with whatever it was they needed her for. Levy refused to give in!

She looked down at the shackles around her wrists. If there was some way to get them off of her she could stand a fighting chance against Raven Tail and try to escape from here. She examined them all over but she couldn't find any kind of lock on them.

"They must be kept on by magic" she muttered and sighed heavily. "I hope Master knows that something has happened to me" she said with a bit of despair in her voice. But she kept messing with the shackles, she wasn't ready to give up.

Suddenly she heard a familiar door open and then close. Someone was coming. Levy hoped it wasn't Flare again. She back against the wall and waited for whoever it was to enter.

The door to her room slowly opened and Ivan stood in the doorway. "I must apologize for Flare's rude behavior" he said with a twisted grin on his face. "She tends to get a bit carried away when we have guests."

Levy just glared at him in disgust. "You have a funny way of showing hospitality to your guests" she said in a mocking tone.

Ivan just continued to stare at the small girl. "Nonetheless, I have brought a visitor to see you...as a way of showing my hospitality" he said. "He has also informed me that no one in Fairy Tail even know you're missing so you will be here for quite a while, fairy-chan."

Levy's heart sank when she heard Ivan say that. It was a trick, it must have been. Of course Master Makarov knew she was missing...surly he must know.

* * *

Gajeel was standing outside of the room, out of sight, and leaning up against the wall. He continued to clinch his teeth as he listened to Ivan speak. It wasn't until he heard Levy's voice that he moved. The dragon felt his heart drop at the sound of her voice. She was here and she sounded alright to him, but in actuality she was from alright. He still had to get her out of here.

He heard Ivan say she had a visitor and watched as he stepped aside. This was the moment he was dreading...how would Levy react to him being here?

Without showing hesitation Gajeel slowly walked into the door frame. His face was expressionless as he walked into the room and stood next to Ivan. He looked across the room and saw Levy standing against the wall. He also saw how quickly the expression on her face changed.

"Ga-Gajeel?!" she said with excitement and confusion. "Gajeel, is it really you?" she asked as she clapped her hands over her mouth and felt her eyes tear up. She was so happy to see a familiar face, especially his. But if he was the bluenette's visitor then why was he standing next to Ivan, and with no shackles or signs of a fight.

"Why are you here? I...I don't understand what's going on" she finally with a puzzled look on her face.

Gajeel stood there, staring at her. His face unchanged by the emotions she was showing and he said nothing. "I brought Gajeel-chan down here to say hello to you, fairy-chan" Ivan spoke again. "I thought seeing a familiar face would help...change your mind so to speak" he said, still grinning.

Levy bite her lip and bravely moved closer to Gajeel, even though Ivan was standing right next to him. "Gajeel...please say something. You're scaring me!" she said as her eye continued to tear up. "Please help me!" she said as she grabbed a hold of his hand.

Gajeel looked down at her shackled hands that were holding onto his. He looked back up at her and slowly raised his other hand to her face. He gently stroked her cheek as a smile smile came across her face.

Suddenly she felt the dragon snatch his hand out of her hands and felt the hand that was on her cheek now gripping her hair. He pulled her head back and stood closer to her, looking her in the eyes.

"Don't get the wrong idea of me, fairy" he said as he moved next to her face to speak into her ear. "You think you know me but you know nothing! I'm not here to help you...I'm here to help him" he said heartlessly as he looked at Ivan.

Levy suddenly was gasping for breath as the iron dragon, out of nowhere, punched her in the stomach and released his grip on the bluenette. She stumbled back a few feet and then fell to her knees. Levy looked up at Gajeel holding her stomach with her eyes wide was she stared at the dragon in shock and disbelief. She could not believe what Gajeel was doing to her. She sat there trembling as she shook her head, not wanting to believe what was happening.

"As Master Ivan said no one in Fairy Tail knows you're missing. In fact, I told those fools that I was meeting up with you to go on another job...a very long job" he said as he grinned.

Ivan placed a hand on Gajeel's shoulder as the two looked at the script mage. "Gajeel-chan here is a real piece of work. He is the finest member I have in Raven Tail" he said as he turned his head to the dragon who was still grinning. "To think my father actually believes that he's a loyal member of Fairy Tail" he said as he burst into laughter.

Levy quickly brought her hands up to her head as she screamed out in pain. She slowly raised her head up as tears fell down her face. "How could you!" she yelled at Gajeel. "Master trusted you, everyone in Fairy Tail trusted you...I trusted you!" She gathered everything she had to stand back up as she lunged at the iron dragon.

Before he knew what was going on Levy was directly in front of her as he felt her small hands strike him across his face. She may be small but she packs quite a punch when she has to. He looked back at the girl who was now beating on his chest and yelling. "I hate you, Gajeel! I hate you!" she continued yelling until a she felt a firm grip around her wrist. Ivan had grabbed a hold of her and threw her back and onto the ground.

Levy laid there on the ground, not wanting to look back up at Gajeel...at the man who betrayed her and her guild. She laid their and wept as the two men backed out fo the cell. Ivan turned and smiled one last time "You'll learn to enjoy you're stay here with us, fairy-chan" he said as he laughed and then closed the door, locking it

Ivan did it...he finally managed to break her.

* * *

The two men walked down the corridor, Gajeel not saying anything. "That was an impressive performance you gave, Gajeel-chan" Ivan said without looking back at the dragon. "I wonder if she will be cooperative now when the time comes."

Gajeel still didn't say anything. He walked in silence as they reached the staircase where PantherLily was standing there, waiting for the two to come back. "I trust that no one tried to come down here?" he asked. PantherLily shook his head. "Very good...now come, both of you. I will have one of my members show you to your rooms for the night" Ivan said as the trio ascended up the staircase.

PantherLily noticed that Gajeel seemed a bit off as he looked down and saw his fist clinched tightly. Something must have happened in that room...but what? He knew something happened but he wasn't sure and wouldn't find out until they were in their room for the night. PantherLily went back to his normal size and perched himself on Gajeel's shoulder once more, as if to comfort the dragon.

After climbing a few flights of stairs back up they stopped on the floor just below Ivan's office. There stood a tall slender man with jet black hair and slitted eyes. PantherLily thought his features resembled that of a snake.

"Kurohebi-chan, be so kind as to show our special guests to their room" the guild master spoke. The snake like man bowed as he gestured for Gajeel and his partner to follow him. Ivan continued his way up the stairs. "I shall see you tomorrow...Gajeel-chan" he said and was soon out of sight.

The slender man led Gajeel and PantherLily down the hallway and to their room. The two entered the room and looked around the dismal looking room. Their travel bags were already in the room. Gajeel turned to see the door closing. "Pleassssant dreamsssss" the snake like mage said as the closed the door.

Gajeel quickly moved about the room, searching for any lacrimas that Ivan might have planted in the room to keep tabs on his guests. After nearly tearing the room apart he sat down on the bed as he covered his eyes with his hand. PantherLily hopped up on the bed and sat next to him. He looked up at his partner with a worried look. "Gajeel...what happened down there?" he asked quietly. He looked down at the hand that was still clinched and saw blood trickling through his fingers.

"Gajeel..." the black cat said with a saddened tone. Gajeel finally snapped out of his trance as he opened up his hand. He had clinched his hand so tightly that his fingernails dug into his hand, causing it to bleed.

"Levy...Levy is here" he said softly.

"Well that's good, right? I mean at least we know that she is in this particular hideout" he said trying to comfort his friend but it didn't seem to be working.

"She is here..." he said. "But I don't think she'll ever be able to forgive me, even after this is all over..."


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks again to everyone who is following this story and for your reviews :D Always appreciated!**

The Iron Dragon laid there on the bed in the room that he and PantherLily were assigned to. The room felt like a prison to him. He was trapped in Raven Tail, just as the script mage was. Only he was having to pretend that he was something that he's not. He looked down and saw the small Exceed curled up at the foot of the bed, trying to sleep. All he could do was stare at the ceiling, there was no way he was able to get a wink of sleep in this place knowing that Levy was only several floors below him.

After tossing and turning a few times Gajeel sat up quickly in the bed. PantherLily stirred as he looked to his partner. "What's wrong, Gajeel?" the Exceed asked, thinking that something had happened.

"I can't take it any more Lily, I'm going to see her," he said as he stood up and put his studded boots on.

"Gajeel, are you crazy? What if you get caught?" PantherLily asked as he saw his partner walking towards the door.

"Relax, I know my way around this place. There are some secret passages that few people know about" the dragon said with his hand on the doorknob. "I can make my way down there without anyone seeing me. It's just something that I have to do."

PantherLily closed his eyes and nodded. "Alright Gajeel, but don't take too long."

The dragon nodded as he quietly cracked the door and looked around outside, making sure the coast was clear. When everything looked good he slipped out the door and closed it behind him. Gajeel made his way down the hallway and looked around. If his memory served him correctly there should be a panel in the wall that opened up a passageway that was on this floor.

Gajeel moved his hand across the wall in one particular area. After a minute of searching he found the stone in question. He pressed it in and suddenly a crack in the wall formed. Gajeel grabbed hold of the door that was now visible and slipped through it into the passageway.

The passageway was dark but Gajeel couldn't take the risk of lighting a torch without someone seeing the light from it. Fortunately for him dragon slayers had pretty damn good vision, even in dark places. He descended down the narrow staircase that led all the way down to the dungeon level they were previously on. When he reached the bottom he pulled on a lever that opened yet another door. After looking cautiously outside of it he emerged, closing the passageway door behind him.

The passageway exited right next to the staircase that he had descended down earlier that day. He crept along the corridor silently making his way to Levy's cell. Gajeel wiggled the door handle...locked. After a second he raised his hand up and extended a finger as it turned into a sharp piece of metal. If he didn't have a key he would just have to pick the lock.

After a minute of trying to pick the lock he heard the familiar click of the door unlocking. He slowly and quietly opened the door.

* * *

Levy laid there on the cot all night. She couldn't sleep...of course how could she possibly think about sleeping after what happened to her earlier. Her eyes were hurting after crying for hours. She wanted out of this hell even more now, but after hearing Gajeel say that no one even noticed she was missing she began to despair again.

Suddenly Levy heard something outside of the door. It sounded like someone was trying to open it. She quickly sat up on the cot and looked around for something she could use to defend herself. The bluenette looked on the ground and saw the food tray that was brought in to her earlier in the day. She grabbed it and ran over to the door. She was going to at least try and fight her way out of this place. The door slowly opened as she raised the tray above her head, waiting for whoever entered the room. Just as the person walked into the room Levy hit him or her upside the head with the tray.

She was about to run out the door when she heard a familiar voice. "What the fuck," Gajeel said as he stood there hunched over and rubbing his head. Levy turned around and looked at him, her eyes were wide but she was full of anger at the dragon.

"Gajeel, you bastard! What do you want now, huh? Have you come to humiliate more?" she asked yelling at him.

Gajeel straightened himself up and looked at her. He had never seen such anger in her eyes. He took a step towards her, "Levy...I..." he said but his sentence was cut short. Levy had turned and ran out the door after he tried to approach her.

The iron dragon dashed out the door and chased after her. She didn't get far until the dragon grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled him towards her. She tried to scream but her voice was muffled by the dragon's hand that was covering her mouth. He dragged her back into her cell and closed the door shut.

Once they were both inside he released his grip on her. "Damn it, will you calm down and let me explain!" he said as he tried to move closer to her. But the closer he moved towards the bluenette the further she moved away from him.

"Don't come near me!" she cried out. "I don't want to see you!"

"I'm not leaving here until you hear me out!" he said, trying to not to yell at her.

Levy found herself backed into the wall with no place else to go. She thought about trying to make a dash around him but he's just too fast for her. She had no choice.

"Alright...fine" she said crossing her arms with her eyes narrowed, still glaring at him angrily. If all she had to do to get him to leave was to listen then she would. "But don't think that I'm going to believe a word you say."

Gajeel rubbed his forehead as he motioned for her to take a seat on the cot. She glanced at it and then back to him. She hesitated a moment before she inched her way over to it, not turning her back for an instance.

The dragon paced in front of her back and forth in front of Levy a few times before he finally stopped and squatted down in front of her. "Alright look...I'm not really a member of Raven Tail, ok?" he said.

There was an awkward silence between the two. Levy narrowed her eyes at him, not amused by his statement. "So that's your big excuse for being here and doing the things you did?!" she said. "...you can leave now," she said, turning her head away from him as she pointed to the door.

Gajeel rubbed his head out of frustration. He was afraid to tell her too much about his double agent duty. She was already in danger but if she knew too much her life could become in danger. But he had no choice if he was to get her out of here safely.

"Look...I know that I hurt you, but I had no choice. If I didn't play the part of a member of Raven Tail my cover would have been blown.

Levy glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "Cover? What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Truth is...truth is that I've been a double agent the whole time I've been in Fairy Tail. Ever since Master Makarov approached me to join the guild that has been my duty. I only agreed to take on this job because he felt I was the only one who could do it considering my past history with dark guilds and...and to make amends for what I did," he said as he looked down.

Gajeel raised his head up to see that he had Levy's full attention now. "I lied when I said no one knew you were missing, I had to lie in order to get Ivan to let me get close enough to you," he said. "It was Master Makarov who told me that you were missing. He knew that I was the only one who could carry out this job which is why I'm here. He and I knew the danger of taking this job but I didn't care...getting you out of here is my only concern."

Levy's eyes widened when she heard Gajeel say that Master knew she was missing, but could she really believe him. "How do I know this isn't some more lies?" she asked sternly. "Why would you of all people risk your life to rescue me?"

Gajeel rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He knows he told PantherLily that he would confess to Levy but this wasn't exactly the time or place for any of that. He looked at Levy who was starting to doubt him again.

"I knew it...this is just some kind of trick to-" she said but was quickly cut off by Gajeel.

"I came because I care about you, Levy!" he said, staring at the bluenette. He was hoping for a smile or something but instead she teared up.

"...you really are a monster aren't you? Now you plan to toy with my emotions as well?" she said.

Gajeel couldn't understand why she was getting this upset. Toying with her emotions? Why would she say that unless...unless, she had feelings for him as well.

Levy opened her mouth to say something else but she found it impossible as Gajeel quickly moved in on her and placed his lip onto hers. Her eyes widened more than ever as she felt his lips against hers. She clinched her hands into fists as she attempted to hit him. But the longer his lips stayed on hers, the less resistance she put up.

Finally Gajeel pulled away and looked at her. Levy was speechless. She raised her fingers to her lips and looked down. It felt as though she could still feel his lips on hers, it made her blush. She slowly looked back up at him, looking into his eyes. Levy could see that there was something different about him...something she had never noticed before.

"What...what's going on here?" she asked as her eyes softened up.

He raised his hand up to caress her cheek but she flinched, she remembered what happened last time he did that. He stopped and looked at her and then continued to reach out to her. She hesitated but allowed him to do so as he gently placed his hand on her cheek. Her cheeks were warm to the touch.

"I'm so sorry for what I did earlier and I know that no amount of apologizing will make up for it," he said, gazing into her eyes. "But I...I love you, Levy" he finally said as he felt his own face getting warm.

Levy's face was now completely red. Did she just hear correctly? Did Gajeel Redfox, of all people, just confess that he loved her? She had so many mixed emotions running through her now. Was he really telling the truth? Levy looked back into his eyes. They were gentle, not stone cold as they were earlier.

"Gajeel...please, be truthful with me. Is this another lie or do you really love me like you say you do?" She had to be sure, she wanted to be sure before she too confessed to him.

Gajeel placed his other hand against the other side of her face, cupping her face in his hands. He leaned in closer and kissed her again, this time with more passion as his tongue gained entrance to her mouth. Levy's face was now on fire. She could feel her eyes close as she kissed him back.

The dragon broke away from the kiss, his cheeks were now turning red themselves. "I promise...this is no lie. If you think I am lying, then you can strike me dead" he said as he pulled out a small knife he had tucked away in his tunic. He handed it to her as she took hold of it.

Levy sat there holding the knife in her hand and looked up at Gajeel. She could always tell if people were being truthful by the look in their eyes. She felt her lower lip quiver as the knife fell out of her hands and onto the floor. The bluenette threw her arms around Gajeel's neck, bursting into tears of joy.

Levy couldn't believe that this was all happening. She had no idea what Gajeel saw in her, she didn't even think she was the dragon's type. She expected someone more strong and voluptuous like Erza...turns out she was wrong...and happy about it.

The bluenette buried her face in Gajeel's thick raven haired and then whispered, "I love you too, Gajeel."

Gajeel was stunned himself now...he never thought he would hear those words spoken from anyone's mouth. But hearing them coming from Levy's lips made him feel like the happiest person in the world right now. He pulled her away from him so that he could face her. Her eyes were gentle once again, the same gentle eyes that he came to love looking at. He kissed her gently one more time before getting back to business.

The dragon picked the knife back up and handed it to her. "Hold on to this. Don't hesitate to use it" he said as he stood up. Levy nodded but was looking confused, he seemed to be rushing for some reason.

"Gajeel, what's wrong? Aren't you taking me out of here?" she asked.

He looked down at her, "I can't just yet. I have to get back to my room. PantherLily will start worrying if I'm gone too long. Plus if they find out that I released you then my cover is blown."

"Wait, Lily? Lily is here too?" She was surprised to hear this. "Don't tell me he's been in on this too?" she said rubbing her forehead.

"He had no idea about my ruse until Master briefed me over the plan. I brought him in on it all as an extra set of eyes...and muscle" he said grinning at her.

Levy nodded, she didn't like the idea of being trapped down here anymore but after hearing the truth from Gajeel she was more at ease. At least the guild is aware of her disappearance. She hid the knife under the cot's mattress for now.

"Go" she said. "If you need to get back then go. I'll be fine now that I know you're here to help me" she said smiling.

Gajeel didn't want to leave her, but he had too. "I swear, on my life...I will get you out of here" he said as he slowly opened the door.

The bluenette nodded as she watched him close the door behind him. She leaned against the wall with her shackled hands up to her chest. She couldn't help but smile after finding out that Gajeel was in love with her and that he was going to get her out of this hell. She laid down on the cot and closed her eyes, hoping that now she could get some rest.

* * *

Gajeel made his way back down the corridor and to the secret passage way that brought him down. He quickly went back up to the level that his room was on. He reached the end of the passageway as he slowly pushed open the door. The dragon looked around and saw that the coast was clear. He slipped through the door and made his way back down to the room.

He opened the door to see PantherLily pacing back and forth across their bed. "Gajeel!" he said, glad to see that his partner was back. "How did it go?"

Gajeel closed the door and nodded at PantherLily with a smile. "I explained the situation to her" he said as he sat on the bed and took his boots off. PantherLily could tell by the smile on his face that he finally did it.

"So you confessed to her, didn't you? gi hee" the Exceed said grinning at the dragon. Gajeel was surprised that PantherLily could tell just by the look on his face but he didn't deny it.

"Shut up you damn cat" he said smirking at his partner. "We need to try and get some rest" he said as he laid back on the bed, hoping that now he could get some rest as well.

* * *

Moments earlier...Flare was patrolling the guild when she stopped in her tracks and hid behind a hideous statue that was in the hallway she was walking down. She hid in the shadows and only looked to see who was there. The red hared Raven Tail witch was surprised to see Gajeel sneaking around in the middle of the night and coming out of a secret passageway. She pressed her body up against the wall, trying to hide herself in the shadows. She waited until she heard Gajeel enter his room.

She merged from behind the statue and tapped her chin with her finger. "My, my, my Gajeel. Whatever are you doing sneaking around?" she mumbled to herself. She knew all too well where that passageway led to...all the way to the bottom, the dungeon level. She never trusted Gajeel and this was all that she needed to implicate him as a traitor.

A sadistic smile came across her face as she turned to walk away. "Master Ivan will be pleased to hear what I have to say about his precious spy!" she said gleefully as she strolled away.


	7. Chapter 7

**As always thank you for your reviews. Working on the next chapter right now so hopefully I will have it ready for you guys soon! :D**

Gajeel didn't think he would ever get to see sleep but he finally managed, even if it was only a few hours sleep. He sat up and saw PantherLily stirring as he got up. Looked like he managed to get some sleep as well. The dragon sat there and rubbed his head. How long was he going to have to continue with this farce?

The two got dressed and opened the door to their room. The hallways were still dark even in the daytime. PantherLily hopped up on Gajeel's shoulder as the two made their way to the staircase and descended them to the main floor.

Before they could make it to the bottom Gajeel heard his name called from behind them. One of the Raven Tail guild members stopped them on the stairs.

"Master Ivan requests that you join him in his office...now" he said and stepped aside for the dragon to walk by.

"What the fuck does that bastard want now?" he thought. Gajeel nodded as he started climbing back up the stairs to the top floor. PantherLily looked at Gajeel wondering the same thing. "You don't think he's on to us, do you?" he whispered in his partner s ear.

"For Levy's sake and our own I hope not" he said in a low voice.

* * *

Levy awoke with a renewed sense of hope after her meeting with Gajeel last night. She sat up in her cot, stretching the best she could with the shackles on her wrists. She would still feel his arms around her and it comforted her. The bluenette then reached for the knife she stuck under her cot and looked at it.

"I can at least try" she said as he tried to pick at the shackles using the knife which was proving more difficult than she thought. Being able to use only one hand wasn't as easy as she thought.

The knife slipped and went straight down towards her legs. Thanks to her wiggling about her legs weren't directly under the knife, but it did tear her dress up pretty good. The bluenette sighed when she saw what she did. "Great" she mumbled but decided to try once again.

Levy suddenly stopped was she was doing as she heard a door opening outside of her cell. She quickly hid the knife back under the cot and pulled her knees up to her and waited for whoever might be outside.

* * *

Ivan stood in his office looking out the same window he did before as if he were waiting for someone to arrive. There was a knock on the door as he turned his head. "Enter" he commanded.

Gajeel opened the door and entered the Raven Tail master's office. PantherLily jumped off his shoulder and stood next to the dragon. Both bowed their heads.

"You summoned me, Master Ivan?" Gajeel asked. As he straightened up he realized they were not alone. Flare was standing in one of the corners and made her way over to Ivan's desk.

"Well hello, Gajeel" she said with a sadistic grin as Ivan turned completely around and walked over to his desk as well. The master took a seat in the rather large chair behind the desk and stared at the dragon.

"Gajeel-chan, explain yourself" he said.

Gajeel raised an eyebrow at the guild master in a confused manner. "Master, I don't know what you're speaking of" he said.

Flare started waving her finger at the dragon, "Naughty Gajeel, I saw you sneaking around last night. You went down to the dungeons through the secret passageway near your room."

Gajeel was caught completely off guard. He didn't see anyone around last night, he checked. And who would have known that Flare knew about that passageway as well.

Ivan's eyes narrowed, "Whatever were you doing down there Gajeel? I'd hate to find out that you were up to no good."

PantherLily looked up at Gajeel nervously, waiting for him to reply. The Exceed was starting to get a bit nervous with this sudden interrogation.

Gajeel lowered his head. A few seconds later he raised it back up with a smirk on his face. "I figured that since Flare was able to have a bit of play time with the fairy why couldn't I? gi hee" he said.

Ivan raised one of his eyebrows at the dragon's answer and smirked.

"Then why were you sneaking around?!" Flare demanded as she moved closer to the dragon. Normally she dared not do such a thing but she figured she had Ivan backing her up on this one. But Ivan just sat there and listened, not saying anything.

Gajeel looked at the red head, narrowing his eyes. "What...and have to pass by every person who might have been skulking about and explain my reason for wanting to indulge myself in a little fun of my own with that cute little fairy?"

Flare stood there at a loss for words. All her accusations seemed to have reason behind them and the guild master wasn't saying anything to support her. She slowly backed away from Gajeel and back over towards the desk.

Ivan suddenly began laughing with amusement from Gajeel's answer. "Of course it's perfectly fine Gajeel-chan, if what you say is true" the guild master spoke. Gajeel was beginning to think that Ivan might not have been buying this story. But how was he possibly going to find out if what Gajeel said was true. Then he started to get a bit nervous...what if he had some security lacrimas hidden down there and saw what he did? If this was true then he was in serious trouble.

Gajeel was about to make a move when suddenly there was a knock on the master's door. "Flare-chan, open the door for our guest" Ivan said as Flare obediently went and opened the door.

Levy was shoved into Ivan's office, falling onto her knees. Gajeel clinched his teeth as he looked towards the guild member who shoved her into the room. The bluenette was roughly hoisted her back onto her feet as she looked around the room. She looked over and saw Gajeel and PantherLily but she tried to not react to their presence. All she could think about right now was what the guild master was planning now.

Ivan rose from his chair and walked over to Levy. "Ah, fairy-chan. Nice of you to join us" he said grinning. "I hear you had a visitor late last night" he said as he turned his gaze to Gajeel.

Levy averted her eyes from Ivan, trying to avoid the question. The guild master placed his hand on her cheeks and turned her head back towards him. "You will answer me fairy-chan, if you don't want to get hurt again like last time" he said. "Now, did Gajeel pay you a visit last night...yes or no?" he asked as he forced her head to turn towards Gajeel.

Levy shook her head releasing it form Ivan's grip. She looked over at Gajeel and bit her lip as she turned away from him. "Yes...he did" she said. She wasn't exactly sure why Gajeel was here and why they were questioning him but she could only guess that someone, namely Flare, saw him last night.

"And for what reason did he have to visit you?" he asked.

Levy hesitated as she tried to think of an excuse. "Think Levy, think" she said over and over in her mind.

Ivan was now circling Levy as Gajeel and PantherLily could only stand by and watch. The guild master was eyeballing her up and down when he noticed something. "My dear fairy-chan, however did you rip your dress since yesterday?" he asked as he lowered his hand and lifted the ripped portion up.

Levy could feel her skin crawl as she bit her lip as Ivan's hand was so close to her skin. It made her tremble. What made her feel worse was that he had been paying that much attention to every detail of her. She kept trying to think of a response to the guild master's interrogations.

Ivan looked over at Gajeel, "My, my...you were a naughty dragon last night, weren't you Gajeel-chan?" he said with a laugh.

That must have been it..it had to be she thought. "He did it" she said as she glared over at Gajeel. "He tried to force himself on me last night!" she said shamefully as she pulled up fake tears for her act. "He thought he could have his own amusement with me last night when no one was around!"

Ivan raised an eyebrow at Levy's answer. "And yet you remain unscathed from his so called advances?" he asked.

Levy continued glaring at Gajeel. "I think that rough kick to his dragonhood was enough to keep him off of me before he could..." she said as she cringed and turned away.

Gajeel crossed his arms and turned away also, keeping up the act as if his pride was hurt. "Good girl" he thought.

PantherLily meanwhile shook his head and smirked. "Sounds like the Gajeel I know" he said, adding icing on the cake. "Not too popular with the ladies, gi hee."

Gajeel felt his eye twitching from the Exceeds comment but he said nothing. He would certainly have to give his cat an earful once they were out of this mess.

Ivan began laughing again after hearing everything. He motioned for the guild member to take Levy away. The bluenette didn't struggle but went willingly just so she could get out of everyone's sight. She wanted to look back at Gajeel but she didn't want his cover to be blown because of one slip up by her. She had to continue acting as if she were still angry with him.

Ivan walked over to Gajeel and placed a hand on his shoulder. Without saying anything he turned around and looked at Flare.

"Well Flare...do you have any more false accusations to make?" Ivan asked.

Flare nervously shook her head. "N-No M-Master Ivan. I just thought that Gajeel went to..."

"To what Flare? Release the prisoner so casually under Master Ivan's nose?" the dragon asked, interrupting the red head.

By this point Ivan was rather cross with Flare for false accusations against one of his most loyal members. "I suggest you leave before I change my mind about what to do with you" he said sternly.

Flare didn't hesitate as she quickly left the room. Gajeel could breathe a sigh of relief now that this whole mess was done, but he wasn't out of the woods just yet. He watched as Ivan crossed back over to the window and looked out it. Gajeel was now getting curious about this as he looked down at PantherLily who seemed to wonder what he was looking for.

"Master, are you waiting for someone else to arrive?" the dragon asked.

Ivan nodded, "Indeed I am. I am expecting the arrival of the Grimoire I told you about. It should be in my hands today!" the guild master said as he turned his head with a maniacal grin on his face.

This wasn't good. If Ivan gets his hand on that book and forced Levy to decipher it he could bring down Fairy Tail and any other guild with the magic from its pages.

"Is that all you need from me, Master Ivan?" Gajeel asked.

"Of course Gajeel-chan. You are free to go but I may require your services later" he said.

And with that the dragon and the Exceed left the guild master's office and headed back to their room. They had much to discuss and figure out...namely how in the hell they were going to keep that book out of Ivan's hands and free Levy.

* * *

Gajeel and PantherLily returned to their room and quickly went to work on figuring out their next move. The dragon didn't think that Ivan would get his hands on the Grimoire so soon and he had no idea as to who was bringing him the book. PantherLily looked up at Gajeel. "Does Master Makarov intend to step in and stop this from happening? And for that matter how are we suppose to let him know what's going on?" the Exceed asked.

Gajeel shook his head, "I have no idea what the old man is planning or how to get a hold of him. He didn't mention anything about coming here or a rescue team. As far as I know it's just you and me" he said disgruntledly looking at his partner. This operation just got a lot more complicated. Now he had to somehow keep the Grimoire out of Ivan's hands, somehow inform Master Makarov about all of this and free Levy...all of this without blowing his cover. Gajeel took a seat on the bed while trying to think of something. "This isn't going to be easy..." he muttered.


	8. Chapter 8

**Ohhh, things are getting tense now! What's going to happen?  
Thanks to everyone who has supplied feedback for my story and to those following me! :D**

Hours seemed to fly by and Gajeel not PantherLily still couldn't think of a solution to their predicament. If they had but some way to contact Makarov it would make things so much easier. "Can't we find a communications lacrima and use it to contact Master?" PantherLily asked.

Gajeel shook his head, "Ivan is too paranoid to just leave lacrimas lying around his guild. They have a communications room but I'm sure it's guarded and there's always someone in the room."

PantherLily lowered his head, "I see, that would be a bit of a problem." It seemed that no matter what the attempted to do would blow their cover and failing their mission.

Gajeel was starting to feel a bit confined in this room so he decided to step out. PantherLily went with him. No way was he going to hang around this creepy room any longer than he had to.

The pair walked around the Raven Tail guild to familiarize themselves with the layout of the guild and to how many members were active at this location. Gajeel also made note of any people guarding certain areas. They passed by the guild's communications room as Gajeel guessed it there was someone in the room at all time and several security lacrimas placed about the room. And even though it didn't look like it from the outside there was always one or two members that kept an eye on the room at all times.

"It seems that he has a lot of secrets that he has yet to tell even you to have this much security for one room" the Exceed pointed out. Gajeel nodded in agreement to his partner's inquiry as they continued on their way.

As they walked Gajeel could only wonder how Levy was doing down in the lower level.

* * *

Levy laid there on the cot in her cell and thought about Gajeel. She wondered if he would have confessed his love for her if the current situation was different. Would he still confess if she wasn't caught and they were back in Magnolia? She sighed and tried to stop thinking about him but it seemed the only thing that kept her strong for now. She then wondered if he would take her on a date when they got home. The thought of this made her giggle.

For hours she laid there, her mind wondering until she heard someone approaching her cell. She reached for the knife and hid it under her dress in case it was Flare. The door to her cell opened up and three people entered her room. It was Nullpudding along with two other guild members. "The time has come fairy. Master Ivan will require your services soon" the short man said grinning.

Levy crossed her arms and looked at him sternly. "I already told him I wasn't going to help that man with anything!" she yelled out.

Nullpudding shook his head, "Now that is a shame, considering you have no say in the matter!" he said and with a snap of his fingers the other two mages went over to Levy and grabbed hold of her, pulling her out of her cell.

"Now be a good girl and we won't have to get rough with you" the short man said as one of the mages twisted her arm. Levy screamed out in pain as the Raven Tail mage stopped. "I think we have an understanding now, yes?" Nullpudding asked as they walked down the corridor.

Levy remained silent as they took her up the stairs. She didn't know what was going to happen next but she could feel herself getting nervous. She only wished that Gajeel was here.

The Raven Tail members took Levy up several slights of steps and into a room behind two large double doors. In the middle of the room was a large desk with several shelves about the room filled with books and scrolls. It looked to be some sort of library for the guild. Nullpudding led Levy to one of the chairs and made her sit. "Since you will be here with us for quite a while Master Ivan decided that you needed a more suitable place for you to work" he said grinning.

Levy scowled at the mage. Even though it was nice to be in a room with windows for a change she didn't like the idea of her staying her much longer. She looked at the desk and could see blank pieces of paper, a pen and some ink all set up. He must have kidnapped her so she could decipher something for him...but what?

"Enjoy your stay, fairy" Nullpudding said as he left the room, leaving the other two guild members with Levy as guards in case she was to try anything funny. Levy eyed the two mages who took post next to the doors. She sighed and laid her head on the table. She wondered if Gajeel was nearby now that she was out of that cell.

* * *

Gajeel and PantherLily were heading back upstairs to their room to compare notes and think of a plan when they were stopped by a Raven Tail member. "Master Ivan requests to see you in his office" the guild member said. Gajeel nodded as the man turned and left quickly.

"What in the hell does he want now?" Gajeel muttered.

PantherLily turned to Gajeel, "You don't think that he got the Grimoire already, do you?" he asked.

"I don't see how. No one has shown up around here lately" Gajeel said as he clinched his fists. He only hoped that he was right. Just before they reached the top floor PantherLily jumped off his shoulder. "I'm going to go back to our room and compare our notes. I'll try and think of something while you're dealing with him" he said.

Gajeel nodded and handed him some small pieces of paper. He watched as PantherLily walked down the hall and disappeared into their room.

The dragon turned and continued walking up the stairs to the top level where Ivan's office was. As he walked down the hall he couldn't help but feel worried. Things weren't going exactly the way he and Makarov planned. He reached Ivan's office, knocked on the door and entered. "You wanted to see me, Master Ivan?" the dragon asked as closed the door. The guild master was standing next to the usual window and looking out it with his hands behind his back. He turned and looked at Gajeel.

"Yes, I did Gajeel. Everything is going according to plan. My Grimoire shall be in my hands shortly and soon I will have the power to crush my father and his pathetic guild!" he said with a huge maniacal grin on his face.

Gajeel clinched his fists rightly. Damn, he was too late. There was no time to come up with a plan. He and PantherLily will have to play it by ear from now on.

"I have already arranged for fairy-chan to begin deciphering the book in a more comfortable spot" he said as he turned back to the window.

Levy was no longer in her cell? "Damn, she could be anywhere in the guild now" he thought. Finding her would be more difficult unless Ivan takes her to him first. Gajeel was deep in thought trying to think of where Levy could be that he didn't hear anything Ivan was saying to him.

"Gajeel...did you hear a word I said?" Ivan asked with an eyebrow raised. "For someone who wants revenge on Fairy Tail for disbanding your former guild you seem very quiet."

Gajeel had been so deep in thought that he didn't hear what the guild master was saying. "Oh I am Master Ivan...believe me I am" he said trying to fake a grin.  
Ivan slowly turned his head back to look out the window, but still questioned Gajeel's behavior. But none of that was of great concern at the moment as a smile appeared on Ivan's face. "Ahhh, I see they've arrived" he said.

What? Gajeel walked over to the window and stood next to Ivan, looking out and seeing in the distance two figures approaching. As they got closer Gajeel could see that they were wearing cloaks. One was a short scruffy looking guy with shabby hair; the other had the hood pulled up over his head and something under his arm. No doubt that they were the ones delivering the Grimoire to Ivan.

Gajeel glanced at Ivan who was smiling widely as the two men got closer to the guild. When they were just outside the gates they stopped and looked up. They could see the guild master in the window, but they couldn't see Gajeel.

The two cloaked people nodded and the short one spoke, "I believe we have something of yours, Master Ivan!" he shouted out. The hooded man held up the object that was under his arm...it was the Grimoire. Gajeel started to sweat when he saw it because deep down he had this feeling that he had failed his mission. But suddenly the book burst into flames as it burned up right before Ivan's eyes.

The guild master's eyes grew wide as he could not believe what he was seeing. "What is this meaning of this?! You dare betray me?" he shouted to the two figures as Gajeel backed up some. He had never seen Ivan this upset before; he could feel the rage coming from him. Gajeel moved back to the window and looked out as much as he could.

The hooded man threw off his cloak to reveal Natsu standing there with the burnt book in his hands. The short man suddenly changed into Mirajane as she took her cloak off. "I don't think you'll be using this book anytime soon!" Natsu said as he book crumbled in his hands and the ashes fell to the ground. Mirajane pulled out a signal flare and launched it into the air that was soon followed by several small explosions.

Gajeel couldn't believe what he was seeing as his eyes grew wider. "What the hell is going on?" he mumbled as Ivan backed away from the window. Gajeel watched as the two mages made a dash for the entrance which had been blown open. So this was Makarov's plan all along? He must have found out what Ivan was after and then found the ones who would be bringing the Grimoire to Ivan. Gajeel was thinking it would have been nice if he had let him in on what was going on somehow.

Gajeel could feel a horrible aura behind him as he turned around to see Ivan was now standing right in front of him. "I thought you said my father knew nothing about any of this Gajeel. I would hate to find out that you knew about this all along Gajeel" the guild master said angrily, looking down at the dragon.

"I swear, Master Makarov told me that he wasn't aware of Levy's disappearance or what you were up to, Master" Gajeel said. He, like Ivan, was just as surprised by what just happened outside. "How could I have possibly known about this?"

Suddenly there was a lot of commotion outside in the hallway. Gajeel walked over to the door and opened it to see Raven Tail guild members scrambling downstairs. Before he could close the door he suddenly felt a very painful sting in his back that made him want to drop to his knees. He felt something on his hand and raised it up to see blood...his blood. Gajeel's eyes widened as he looked down to see the tip of a dagger sticking through his side. He turned around slowly to see Ivan standing behind him, grinning.

"It's not that I don't trust you Gajeel, but just let this serve as a warning to those who betray me" he said. "Plus we can't have you returning back to my father's guild unscathed now can we?" he said as he laughed.

Gajeel gritted his teeth. He wanted to kill Ivan but before he could even move the guild master was suddenly engulfed by shikigamis, circling around him rapidly. Gajeel held his arms up to guard himself but there were so many of them. The shikigamis soon disappeared, along with Ivan. His plan had failed so the guild master escaped while he could. Gajeel looked at his arms to see them scratched up from the shikigamis, but they were nothing compared to the tremendous pain from the dagger that was lodged through his side.

"Fucking bastard" he muttered as he made his way to the doorway. He stopped and leaned against the doorframe, trying to reach around his back to try and pull the dagger out. He couldn't get a good grip on it and every time it moved in him it sent a sharp pain all throughout his body.

He stumbled into the hallway and fell against the wall and then to his knees. He looked up to see PantherLily floating towards him who took on his battle form once he reached Gajeel.

"Gajeel, what in the hell happened to you?" he asked as he saw the dagger in the dragon's back. He carefully helped his partner back up to his feet.

"That damn bastard Ivan...he suspected me for a moment when Mira and Salamander showed up and destroyed the Grimoire" he said as he coughed up some blood.

PantherLily was shocked by what he just heard, "Natsu and Mirajane are here? Then that must mean Master Makarov and some of the others are here. That would explain the explosions I heard" the Exceed said. "But where is Levy?" he asked.

Gajeel wiped the blood from his mouth and looked at his partner. "I have an idea of where she might be...but first, pull this damn thing out of my back!" he said.  
PantherLily nodded as he gripped the dagger tightly and yanked it out of his friend's back. He looked at it for a moment; it was covered in the dragon's blood. He dropped it to the floor and looked back at Gajeel who was trying to stand up straight now that the thorn in his side was gone. "You better patch that up to stop the bleeding" PantherLily said.

Gajeel unraveled the scarf around his neck and tied it around his waist. "Come on, Lily. Let's find levy and finish this" he said sternly.

* * *

Levy continued to sit in the guild's excuse for a library as the two men watched over her. She was wondering how long she was going to be here like this, but at least she was out of that cold, dark cell for now. She began to fiddle with her shackles some when one of the guards ordered her to stop. She placed her hands in her lap and looked down...waiting.

Suddenly there was a loud noise that sounded like an explosion that came from outside. Levy almost jumped out of her chair when she heard the noise, startling her half to death. She looked towards the doors as the two guards, who were shaken by the noise, threw open the doors and looked out into the hallway. "It must be Master and the others" she thought as a smile came across her face. "Grab the girl and take her back to her cell!" one of the guards said as he watched over the room. The second guard made his way over to Levy and grabbed her arm.

"I don't think so!" Levy shouted as she pulled the out the knife Gajeel gave her and started slashing at the mage. She landed a few hits on him with it but it distracted him long enough for her to run up to him and knee him in his stomach. The mage hunched over and fell to the ground. Levy stood there proud of herself, but only for a moment as the other guard saw what was going on. "You bitch!" he shouted as he made his way towards the bluenette.

Levy was ready to protect herself when there was another explosion; this one feeling like it was from the inside. The guard was knocked to the ground and Levy took the opportunity to flee from the room. She looked around and found a staircase to her left and ran towards it. Suddenly the room she was just in exploded into flames, the blast from it knocking the bluenette off her feet and slamming her into the wall before she could make it to the staircase.

Slowly Levy opened her eyes to find herself lying on the floor, surrounded by rubble and debris. Her head was in a lot of pain as she rubbed her forehead. The bluenette looked down at her hand and saw blood. She must have hit her head pretty hard in that explosion. Levy tried to lift herself up to her feet but her body gave out as she fell back to the floor. She looked down and saw that her leg was caught under a large piece of debris. She was trapped until help could get to her, if help got to her.

"Hurry...Gajeel" she said before she closed her eyes and fell unconscious.


	9. Chapter 9

**I really hope everyone is enjoying this story as much as I am writing it :D  
**

Gajeel moved as fast as he could, despite the open wound in his side. He had to find Levy before the fighting between Fairy Tail and Raven Tail broke out. PantherLily was at his side, aiding the dragon, as they began their search for Levy. There was only one place Gajeel could think of where Levy could be if he was going to have her translate the grimoire.

"There's a room two floors down that Ivan used as a sort of library" the dragon said. "I'm sure that's where he took Levy to translate the book." The dragon could only hope that his hunch was right.

The two descended down the stairs but soon found it blocked off with debris. "It looks like we'll have to find another way to the next floor" PantherLily pointed out. Gajeel nodded and pointed down the hallway. "There's some stairs at the other end of this hallway" the dragon said. "Hopefully they're not blocked off."

As the made their way down the hall Gajeel noticed the room they passed by earlier, Raven Tail's communications room, was destroyed. It looked as if there was an explosion from the inside. Was Ivan trying to destroy any evidence and any trace of Raven Tail's secrets? That's when it hit Gajeel...the room that Levy was in; it had plenty of Raven Tail's records in it. What if that room was destroyed as well?

"We've got to hurry!" the dragon said to his partner as he began running down the hallway. PantherLily was close behind him but was worried about his partner. With a wound like the one he had the dragon was in no condition to be pushing himself too hard. But he said nothing, even after seeing the dragon's blood leaving a trail on the ground. The Exceed knew that Gajeel wouldn't listen, not a time like this. He was completely focused on finding Levy that it wouldn't have mattered if he spoke his concerns. All he could do was help his partner right now.

* * *

When they finally reached the staircase the two were relieved to see that it was still all together. They climbed down one flight and looked down the hallway. There was debris scattered about and smoke pouring out of some of the rooms. "Shit" Gajeel muttered as he and PantherLily made their way down the hallway.

It didn't take long before they reached the room Gajeel suspected Levy was in...or what was left of it. The room was completely destroyed by an explosion. Gajeel slowly moved towards it and froze in place as he looked down and saw something lying on the ground...something he knew all too well. He bent over and picked up the yellow headband that was lying underneath some rubble. He stared down at it before he felt rage building up inside him as his hand trembled. PantherLily stood there with his head lowered...they were too late.

The dragon fell to his knees as he let out a loud, deafening roar that made even PantherLily jump. The Exceed walked over to his partner and placed his paw on Gajeel's hand that was gripping the headband tightly. "I'm so sorry, Gajeel...we were too late" the black cat said with sorrow.

Gajeel didn't speak; he just continued staring at the headband. For the first time in his life the dragon felt his heart ache as his eyes watered up. He clinched his teeth tightly, wondering how he could return to Fairy Tail without Levy. Suddenly he lifted his head up high and caught the scent of someone. He began looking all around him, trying to find where the scent was coming from which was starting to puzzle PantherLily.

"What is it, Gajeel?" he asked. He could tell that Gajeel had smelled something or someone. He watched as the dragon sniffed the air a few more times.

"Over there!" Gajeel said as he rose to his feet and ran in the direction the scent was coming from. He moved into the hallway on the other side of the room; debris and rubble were everywhere in the hallway. There was also a large cloud of dirt and dust that filled the hallway, making it hard to see anything or anyone. Gajeel stumbled along the hallway when he saw a familiar person laying on the ground just in front of him...it was Levy.

Gajeel rushed over to her and knelt down next to her. She was lying there unconscious with blood running down her head. He nudged her gently, "Levy! Levy can you hear me?" he shouted at the script mage. There was no response from the bluenette. The dragon then lifted her body up and placed her in his lap. "Please...wake up Levy" he said quietly as he stroked her cheek.

There was a moment of silence. Suddenly Gajeel heard a small moan and looked down to see Levy fluttering her eyes as she tried to open them. A look of exhilaration filled Gajeel's face when he saw the bluenette look up at him. She smiled at Gajeel and raised her hand, trying to touch the dragons face, as he grabbed hold of it. "Ga-jeel. Is it really you?" Levy asked as her eyes began to water up.

The dragon nodded, "Yeah shrimp, it's really me" he said as he slowly pulled her into an embrace. His heart raced and nearly skipped a beat, he was so afraid that he would never see her again. Gajeel heard some muffled sobs and felt her arms slowly wrap around him as she rested her head against him. She wanted to stay in his arms but knew she couldn't, not now anyway.

"I'm getting you out of here, Levy!" Gajeel said. "Lily, go ahead and see if you can find someone from the rescue team and let them know that we have Levy." PantherLily nodded as he spread his wings and flew away.

Gajeel got to his feet and tried to help Levy up but she cried out in pain. The bluenette pointed down at her foot, she had forgotten that she was trapped under some debris. Gajeel stood up and walked over to the large chunk of wall that had her foot pinned.

"When I lift it up you've got to pull your leg away quickly!" he said. Levy nodded as the dragon lifted the heavy chunk of rock. She quickly pulled her foot out from underneath it as Gajeel dropped the debris. The large chunk of wall fell back down to the ground as Gajeel felt the stinging pain coming from his wound. The strain of lifting the rock put tension on his wound as it began bleeding again.

Levy sat up and saw the dragon clutching his side. "Oh my gosh Gajeel, you're hurt! What happened?" she asked, scooting closer to him to examine his wound. She noticed that the wound went all the way through his body and looked like it was made by a weapon. "Who on Earthland did this to you?" she asked as a tear escaped her eye.

Gajeel shook his head, "Don't worry about it, shrimp" he said as he slowly stood up. "Right now we have to worry about getting out of here" he said as he held out his hand to Levy.

The bluenette was none too happy about Gajeel ignoring his own wound but she nodded and reached out for his hand. Levy grabbed a hold of it and tried lifting herself up to her feet but her leg almost gave out from underneath her as she tried to put pressure on it. Gajeel caught hold of her waist just before she fell. "Don't worry, I'll help you walk" the dragon said as he put his arm around Levy. The script mage felt her face blush and gently smiled at the dragon. "Thank you, Gajeel" she said as they began walking.

* * *

Slowly they made their way towards the main staircase. Gajeel could hear fighting taking place just below them between Fairy Tail and Raven Tail. With Ivan no longer a threat here the rest of his guild wouldn't last very long without their master around. Gajeel turned and looked at Levy, "Don't worry shrimp, we're almost out of -"

Before Gajeel could finish what he was saying he felt several painful blows to his back, knocking him off his feet. The iron dragon hit the ground in pain as Levy tried to regain her balance from nearly being brought down with him. He winced as he looked to see what hit him. At the end of the hallway, in front of the room that exploded, stood one of the mages that was guarding Levy. He was badly injured from the explosion but was now accompanied by another Raven Tail member.

"Did you think we'd let you get away with taking this girl so easily...traitor!" he yelled out to Gajeel. Levy turned around in fright, she was surprised that the man had survived the blast. She thought he was taken out by the explosion from the library.

The mage raised his hand as another piece of debris levitated next to him. "I'll show you what we do with traitors!' he said with a smirk on his face. With a flick of his hand the rock hurdled itself towards the pair.

"Levy! Watch out!" Gajeel yelled as he tried to lift himself up. Levy didn't move. Instead she stood directly in front of Gajeel and raised her hand out in front of her. "This time I'll protect you!" she said to the dragon and with a few quick motions she made her stand and yelled out. "Sold Script: GUARD!" A large shield appeared in front of her and blocked the attack, shattering the rock into small pieces as it made contact.

Gajeel looked up in shock. "But how did you...you still have the shackles on!" he said confused. Levy turned around and held her wrists up. "They were broken during the explosion" she said, pointing out that the lacrima inside the shackles were shattered. They were still chained together but it seemed that her magic had returned back to her. "I honestly wasn't sure it was going to work...but I had to take the chance." she said, sticking her tongue out.

The dragon smirked, "Lucky for us it worked" he said as he slowly got onto his feet. Gajeel's legs were wobbly from because of his injuries and seemed to be having trouble keeping himself on his feet. The dragon tried to hide the fact that he was injured and hurting from Levy. She didn't need to worry about him, not right now.

"You bitch!" the guild member yelled out in anger. He then turned his attention to Gajeel, "We'll teach you to betray our guild!" the other Raven Tail mage said as he stepped forward. With a snap of his fingers the sound of the fighting below was amplified to a deafening magnitude.

Gajeel and Levy clamped their hands of their ears, trying to muffle the sound but to no avail. The dragon opened one of his eyes and noticed that the mage's magic was only affecting them and not his comrade. So his magic only affects whoever he wants and not everyone around him. The mage started walking towards the two slowly with a smirk on his face. It seemed that the closer he got to them the louder and more painful the sounds were on their ears.

Levy fell to her knees as she cried out in pain as Gajeel fell back down onto his side and laid there on the ground, his hands covering his ears as he yelled out in pain. He began to feel something drip down his hand and as he looked over at Levy. He could see blood slowly dripping from her ear due to the mage's magic. Gajeel then realized what was happening but was unable to do anything. The bluenette collapsed onto her side and looked over at the dragon. He couldn't hear what she was saying but saw her mouthing something.

The Raven Tail mage was practically standing in front of them now. Gajeel closed his eyes tightly as they both screamed out in pain and then...silence. Everything seemed to go back to normal...but how? Gajeel slowly removed his hands from his ears and looked up. He saw the mage standing there in front of them...with a large sword through him. The sword retracted from the mage as his body fell to the ground. "I can't seem to leave you two alone for a moment, gi hee." Both Levy and Gajeel looked up to see PantherLily in his battle form with his sword unsheathed.

"Lily!" Levy said happily as she sat up. The Exceed held out his hand and helped the bluenette up to her feet. Levy dusted herself off and gave PantherLily a big hug which made the Exceed blush a little. "What about the other mage?" she asked as she looked around.

The Exceed pointed over his shoulder to the Raven Tail guard that was lying lifeless on the floor. "They left me no choice...they were on to Gajeel about being a spy and if they were allowed to live they would have surly told Ivan."

Levy simply nodded. She didn't like the idea of PantherLily killing the mages but he was right. He did it to protect him and Gajeel.

"Well what are you doing still lying around?" the Exceed said, teasing the dragon who was still on the ground.

Gajeel narrowed his eyes and glared at his partner with a smirk on his face. "Shut your damn mouth, cat" he said as he sat up. He tried to stand up but quickly fell back to the ground. He looked down at his wound and saw it bleeding out again. "Shit...this just isn't my day."

PantherLily noticed the dragons wound bleeding profusely. "Gajeel, your wound. It's opened up more" the Exceed pointed out as he helped his friend up. "We've got to get this looked at and soon before you bleed out too much!"

Levy squatted down and tore some material off the dead Raven Tail mage's clothes. She then walked over to Gajeel and tied it around his waist as tight as she could. "I hope this at least helps until we can get out of here." she said, looking up at Gajeel. The dragon smiled at her and nodded.

PantherLily had to help the dragon walk, his injuries and blood loss were already making him weak, as Levy limped alongside her dragon. The bluenette looked to Gajeel and smiled softly at him. "Thank you again, Gajeel...for coming to save me" she said softly. "I thought I was going to be trapped down there for a long time."

Gajeel turned his head and weakly grinned at her. "No need for thanks, shrimp. I would have come even if Master hadn't asked me to take on this mission."

Levy felt her face blush at Gajeel's comment. "I-I appreciate it" she said bashfully. PantherLily just grinned as he helped his partner down the steps. They were so close to being out of there, they just had to be careful when leaving. Gajeel still couldn't let any more Raven Tail members see him helping Levy escape otherwise it would blow his cover.

* * *

The trio reached the bottom of the stairs and could see that there were more Fairy Tail members than just Mirajane and Natsu that stormed Raven Tail. They brought a large amount of guild mates with them, including Master Makarov. "Well...this wasn't part of the plan" Gajeel said as he held onto his side. Fortunately for them most of the Raven Tail members were preoccupied by the Fairies which gave Gajeel and PantherLily a good chance to sneak by everyone with Levy.

"There's...a secret exit just up ahead" he said pointing to a narrow hallway just ahead of them. "We can get out that way and avoid being seen."

PantherLily looked around before leaving the staircase to make sure the coast was clear. "Alright, it looks clear enough: the Exceed said. "Let's move." The three made their way quickly towards the hallway with the secret exit.

During the fighting Master Makarov could see Gajeel and PantherLily with Levy. They managed to find and free her, but they looked injured. Makarov had hoped that the dragon could pull off this escape without injuries but he was wrong. He noticed that they were trying to sneak by, no doubt Gajeel knew of a secret escape route. The old guild master looked up at Mirajane who was standing next to him. "We must not let them be seen by any of Raven Tail's members" he said. "We much distract Raven Tail as much as we can so they can get out!" The barmaid nodded with a mischievous grin as she performed her Satan Soul takeover and launched an attack on any nearby Raven Tail members.

As they quickly made their way past the fighting, Gajeel glanced over at Makarov. The old guild master looked back to him and nodded with a smile. The dragon smirked back as his Exceed partner helped him towards the hallway, with Levy by his side. Though they may have been injured at least they were safe and alive which was all that mattered to Makarov.

* * *

The three of them managed to enter the hallway without being seen by any Raven Tail members. The hallway was much narrower than the other hallways in the guild's hideout but all three managed to walk side by side down it. It didn't take them long to reach the end of the hallway where Gajeel looked around, trying to remember which torch was the lever to open the passageway. After a minute he pointed to one to the left of them.

PantherLily passed Gajeel off to Levy as she wrapper arm around his waist, trying to hold him up. He walked over to the torch and pulled on it. There was a click when he pulled it and the wall shook but the door didn't open. PantherLily looked over at Gajeel puzzled. The Exceed walked up to the wall and tried pushing on it but it wouldn't budge. "That was the right one, right?" he asked the dragon.

"Shit, the mechanism that opens the door must have broken from the explosions earlier" he muttered as he tried to stand upright. Gajeel pulled away from Levy and stood in front of the wall. "I'm going to have to open it up myself" he said as he raised his fist up.

"Gajeel no! You can't do that in your current condition" Levy said as she walked over to him, her eyes tearing up. She knew Gajeel was hurt badly and was taking a great risk to use his dragon slaying magic.

Gajeel turned to face Levy and placed his hand on her face. "Don't worry, shrimp. I told you I would get you out of here no matter what" he said, smiling at the bluenette.

Levy placed her hand on top of his. She tried to smile for him but found herself getting upset. "...I know you did. I just wish you would let Lily try and open it" she said. The bluenette knew that PantherLily couldn't break through the thick wall, not even with his sword. She leaned in and kissed him and then backed away. "Please...just be careful" she mumbled.

The iron dragon nodded as PantherLily stepped back behind him with Levy. Gajeel stood in front of the wall, gathering all the strength he could. A bright green light engulfed him as a magic circle appeared before him. He stretched his arms out and in an instance several large iron pillars were created, much like the ones he used to destroy Fairy Tail's old guild. Gajeel roared as he sent the pillars hurling towards the wall. The pillars collided with the wall creating a large hole which revealed the passageway.

The magic circle disappeared as well as the green light leaving the dragon standing in the hallway. His body swayed back and forth until his legs finally gave way, falling backwards towards the ground. Levy screamed as she and PantherLily dashed towards him.


	10. Chapter 10

**So this time around I figured I'd give Gajeel a break and let Levy have the spotlight for this chapter :3 Enjoy!**

"Gajeel!" Levy cried out as the iron dragon fell backwards into her and PantherLily's arms. His eyes were shut and his body limp as the two looked down at him. "Gajeel, wake up!" the bluenette cried out again as she wrapper her arms around him.

PantherLily placed a hand on Levy's shoulder to try and calm her down. "Don't worry, Levy, he's alive," he said pointing out that the dragon was still breathing, even though the breaths were short and raspy. "The bastard just wore himself out," he said shaking his head.

Levy wiped her eyes and tried to smile after hearing PantherLily's reassuring words. "Baka...I told you not to push yourself," she said, burying herself into the dragon's thick raven hair. "At least he managed to break the wall down" the Exceed said as he pointed to the gigantic hole in the wall. "We need to keep moving." Levy nodded as the two carefully lifted the dragon up.

PantherLily slung one of Gajeel's arms around his neck and grabbed hold of it, his other wrapped around the dragon's body. "Looks like I'm going to have to carry you out of here," the Exceed said, looking at his partner. He had expected to hear a "gi hee" come from Gajeel but there was nothing but silence. "That bastard Ivan..." he said, stopping short of what he was going to say. He didn't want Levy to worry about how he got this wound. For now PantherLily could only hope that he could retain his battle form until the three managed to escape through the passageway and rendezvous with the rest of Fairy Tail.

Levy acted like she didn't hear what the Exceed said as she helped PantherLily carry the heavy dragon as much as her small body would allow. She was so concerned with Gajeel that she didn't even notice the pain in the foot that was nearly crushed by the rubble. The bluenette was constantly glancing at Gajeel, hoping that he would wake up at any moment.

* * *

As they carried Gajeel, Levy was reminded of that time on Tenroujima...after she and the dragon were attacked during the S-class exams. She had to carry the dragon back to the camp safely after being severely injured trying to protect her. The bluenette swore that she would never want to rely on someone rescuing her like that again...but here she was the damsel in distress once again. And, like last time, here was Gajeel, badly injured trying to protect her. Levy bit her lower lip and was fighting to hold back her tears. She felt so weak at this moment that it was making her angry at herself for not being stronger. She wanted to be strong...for him.

Then she also remembered another vow she made on Tenroujima. As she was making runes to protect the camp and the unconscious dragon. "This time I'll protect you, Gajeel." The script mage remembered the words she spoke and she did manage to protect him that time. And here she was, trying her best to help Gajeel out once again. Maybe she wasn't as weak as she thought. Maybe, like Gajeel, she now had something worth protecting.

* * *

PantherLily and Levy made their way through the passageway with Gajeel hanging off of the two's shoulders, still out to the world. The passageway was dark, but they managed to make their way through it. They were lucky that it was not damaged by any of the explosions earlier.

After what felt like forever to the script mage they reached the end of the passageway. PantherLily felt around for a button or a lever to open the door. After a minute of feeling around, he found a switch in the wall. He pressed it in and the stone door cracked itself open. With Gajeel still hanging off of him PantherLily had to use his body weight to push open the door.

The two made their way outside of the passageway and looked around for any sign of their friends. "Looks like everyone is around the main entrance" the Exceed pointed out as he and Levy began moving along. PantherLily looked over at his partner, "Just how long are you planning on sleeping?!" he said as he adjusted the dragon on his shoulder.

For a moment it looked like they were home free when suddenly, from around the corner several Raven Tail mages just happened upon them. Everyone froze in their tracks. Levy and PantherLily didn't know what would happen next since they saw Gajeel being carried by them.  
The Raven Tail mages looked shocked to see Gajeel so wounded and unconscious. "Wh-What? This cat and the prisoner managed to take out Gajeel?!" one of them said as they looked back and forth to each other, whispering amongst themselves how someone as strong a Gajeel was taken out by these two.

Levy looked up at PantherLily and nodded. They could use the confusion to their advantage. The bluenette removed Gajeel's arm from around her and took several steps forward. "T-That's right!" she said, trying to sound confident. "We're taking this traitor back to Fairy Tail so he can await his punishment by our Master!" she said, pointing to the dragon. PantherLily smirked when he heard Levy giving a speech about Gajeel being a traitor. He was pleased to see that Levy had some fight in her.

The Raven Tails looked at each other again. "We're not going to let you do that, fairy!" One of them yelled out as the other three raised their fists in the air and yelled out. "Gajeel is one of our Master's most trusted member's! We're not giving him up so easily!" With that the Raven Tails dashed towards the bluenette and the Exceed, ready to attack.

Levy stood there, surprised. She was hoping that the men would just run off but it looked like they wanted a fight. The bluenette was ready to stand her ground. "Solid Script: HOLE!" she yelled out and with a few flicks of her hand a massive hole appeared beneath the mages. They fell into the pitfall the script mage made but they didn't stay in there for very long. Two of them climbed out and started towards her again.

"Solid Script: FIRE!" A massive fireball was sent hurling towards the mages. One of the mages barely dodged her attack while the other was hit by it. The one that got away shot an attack at Levy. "Solid Script: SHIELD!" she shouted just in the nick of time. A large shield appeared directly in front of her, blocking the attack from the mage. The force of the attack against the shield sent the bluenette staggering back some.

When she regained her footing she looked up to see the mage leaping towards her. She held her arms up to her to try and block but the mage was cut short by a rather large sword. "Lily!" she yelled out as the Exceed stood in front of her. "Gi hee, go take care of the other two," he said. "I'll handle this one!"

Levy nodded as she ran over to the hole she made. She looked down to see the other two climbing up, almost towards the top. She thought for a moment, "Solid Script: ROCK!" she said and flicked her hand. A large rock appeared over the two mages and quickly fell towards them. They looked and screamed just before the rock fell on them, knocking them back into the hole. She stood there a moment to see if they got back up from her attack. The two mages were motionless under the heavy rock that was now resting on top of their bodies.

The bluenette felt so proud of herself as she turned to PantherLily who had already taken out the remaining mage with ease. The Exceed gave her thumbs up and grinned. Levy replied with a thumbs up as she looked around. "Where's Gajeel?!" she said frantically. She was afraid there were more Raven Tails that might have taken him while they were fighting.

PantherLily walked over to a large boulder and looked down. "He's right here...sleeping like a baby still," he said teasingly at the dragon that was resting against the boulder. If Gajeel were anywhere close to consciousness he surly would have heard his partner's comment, but to no avail he wasn't.

Levy sighed with relief as she made her way back over to PantherLily and Gajeel. "I hope we don't run into any more trouble" she said as the two hoisted Gajeel back onto their shoulders. The bluenette soon regretted those words, for as soon as they started on their way again, PantherLily reverted back to his normal size. All of Gajeel's weight fell onto Levy who was struggling to keep herself up as well as holding onto Gajeel.

"Damn, I must have used up too much of my own magic" the small cat said. "I'm sorry Levy, but you're going to have to carry this oaf," he said looking up at her apologetically.

"It's...alright Lily," the bluenette said as she worked on shifting Gajeel so she would be able to walk with him. "I did it once...I can do it again," the script mage said as she took a few steps. She wished Gajeel would hurry up and come to. She was already tired and injured herself but that fight made her use up more magic, making her feel weaker. But she shook it off and carried on as she and PantherLily slowly made their way away from the Raven Tail hideout before they ran into anymore stragglers.

* * *

Levy and PantherLily made their way into the forest that was not far from the Raven Tail hideout. With any luck they would be able to find their comrades soon, or at least the script mage hoped. She was already starting to feel weak in her knees. The strain of using up a lot of magic on top of her injuries was starting to take a toll on her. She was starting to stumble ever so often. Even Lily was feeling it as he used up all of his magic in his battle form as he drug himself along.

The bluenette was starting to breath harder as her vision began to blur. She glanced at Gajeel and before she knew it the dragon had slipped out of her grip and fell to the ground. She tried to grab hold of him but she felt herself getting lightheaded as she felt her body starting to fall to the ground as well. Suddenly she felt arms around her. Levy slowly opened her eyes to see that she was still standing. She looked to her right and saw her best friend Lucy holding her up with a smile. "We finally found you!" the celestial mage said, smiling happily.

"Lu-Chan!" the bluenette cried out as she hugged her friend. "I didn't think I would ever get to see you again!" She was so glad to see her best friend but wondered what she was doing out here. "What are you doing out here?"

The celestial mage smiled, "Erza and I were told to try and look for all of you" she said pointing over to the scarlet haired mage who was knelt down next to Gajeel, checking to see if he was still alive. "What on Earthland happened to you three?" Lucy asked as she could see Levy was injured and exhausted. She helped the bluenette over towards Erza and helped her sit down next to a worn out Exceed.

"It's a long story" Levy said as she quickly looked over at Erza. "Ga-Gajeel...is he alright?!" she asked tearfully.

The requip mage raised her head up to Levy, "He's lost a lot of blood" she began speaking. "And it feels like he has two cracked ribs. We can't afford to move him any further without causing more damage." Erza pulled out a signal flare and shot it into the air. "Master and the others aren't too far away. They ll help us patch him up and get you three to safety" she said.

Levy crawled over to Gajeel and brushed his hair out of his face. She sat there and watched over him until the others showed up. PantherLily slowly walked over and sat down next to the bluenette and the dragon. "That damn idiot...he never wants to listen to me, especially when I'm right," the small black cat said, shaking his head.

"...I...heard that...you damn cat," said a weak, raspy voice that seemed to come from Gajeel. Levy and PantherLily looked up in shock to see the dragon slayer slowly opening one of his eyes.

"Gajeel!" they both shouted in unison as Levy threw her arms around the dragon. Gajeel winced as the bluenette hugged him but he slowly raised his arm and patted Levy's head the best that he could in his given condition. Even Erza and Lucy were glad to see their comrade was awake now.

"Glad to see...that you're alright...shrimp" Gajeel said, trying to grin.

"Of course I am, thanks to you," she said happily as she wiped the tears away from her eyes.

PantherLily walked over and took a seat in Levy's lap. "You should have seen her, she took on four Raven Tails all by herself" the Exceed said boastfully. "They thought we defeated and captured you" he said laughing, "I think she scared them when she told them that we beat you up!"

Levy felt her cheeks blushing while PantherLily talked. "...I-It wasn't much really," she said bashfully as she turned her head away. She was waiting to hear something sarcastic from Gajeel but she didn't.

"All by yourself...huh shrimp? What can I say...I'm proud of you" he said, causing Levy's face to burn up as she turned her head back towards him in surprise.  
PantherLily nodded in reply, "I believe she said something about it being her turn to protect you...no matter what, gi hee."

Gajeel had a somewhat astounded look on his face when he heard what his partner said. The look soon faded leaving a smile on the dragon's face as he reached out for the bluenette's hand. "...Thanks, shrimp...for protecting me...gi hee," he said. Levy gently smiled back at Gajeel as she grabbed his hand. The bluenette never imagined that the great iron dragon would ever genuinely thank someone the way he thanked her. She could tell that he was no longer that same man that he was when he first joined Fairy Tail.

"Y-You're welcome, Gajeel" she said. She continued holding onto Gajeel's hand even after he closed his eyes and drifted off. For a moment Levy and PantherLily got worried that he was out again.

Erza reassured them that it was quite normal for someone in his condition to slip in and out of consciousness. "Don't worry you two, he'll be alright. He's a lot tougher than he looks" she said as she placed her hand on Levy's shoulder. "You two should try and rest up some as well until Master gets here. I'm sure he'll have a lot of questions to ask about everything that happened" the scarlet haired mage said. "I'll stand watch while you two rest."

Levy and PantherLily nodded at Erza. The two of them were tired and exhausted but Levy didn't seem to want to leave Gajeel's side for a moment. Lily, in the meantime, curled up in Levy's lap and was soon sound asleep. He needed to get his strength back should they need him.

By this time Lucy had taken a seat next to Levy on the ground and was nudging the bluenette with her elbow. "So Levy-chan...What exactly happened back there anyway?" she said with a questioning look. "You and Gajeel seem to have gotten awfully close to one another."

Levy's face turned bright red as she shyly looked down, fidgeting with her dress. "N-Nothing really happened, Lu-chan. Gajeel risked his life to save me and I'm very grateful for him doing so." Levy wasn't sure if she was ready to tell her best friend about her first kiss with Gajeel, it wasn't exactly the time nor place for it.

Lucy on the other hand felt differently. She knew something happened between the two mage, the evidence was clearly written all over the bluenette's face. The celestial mage suddenly clapped her hand over her mouth, "Levy-chan...Did the two of you kiss?! What was it like?"

Levy flailed her arms at her best friend, "You shouldn't ask such personal things like that, Lu-chan!"

The script mage eventually calmed down and went back to looking down towards the ground. Lucy sat there with her hand on her chin, curiosity was written all over her face.

Finally, Levy spoke. "We...We did kiss" she said quietly. "He risked a lot to sneak down into the dungeon to reassure me that he would rescue me and...he kissed me" she said as the bluenette ran her fingers across her lips. She could still feel the dragon's lips on hers even know. "...he said he loved me."

Levy wasn't sure if she should mention anything about Gajeel being a double agent to Lucy or Erza so she left all those details out. She felt a smile come across her face as she glanced sown at the sleeping dragon.

The celestial mage sat there with a warm smile across her face. She closed in on her friend, throwing her arsm around Levy and hugged her. "I'm so happy that your safe, Levy-chan" the blonde mage spoke.

Levy nodded as she felt her eyes tearing up once again. She seemed to be doing quite a bit of that today. She hugged her friend back, "I am too Lu-chan. I'm ready to go back home to Fairy Tail." She was ready to go back home with him.

* * *

Lucy finally left the bluenette's side so she could rest. And only after being forced by Erza to do so, she curled up next to Gajeel with a still sleeping Exceed in between them. For the first time in a while she was able to sleep peacefully and not having to worry about waking up in a cold, dark cell.

She must have slept for about an hour when she was awakened by an all too familiar loud voice. She opened her eyes to see Natsu looking down at her. She jumped and quickly sat up and rubbed her eyes. She looked around and saw Mirajane, Gray and Juvia were also with him along with Master Makarov.

"I'm so happy to see all of you!" she said happily as she hugged the old guild master. She couldn't help it, after all that she had been through she just had to hug him.

"What the hell happened to Gajeel, Levy?" Natsu asked her. Normally the fire dragon would be having a go at Gajeel's expense but seeing a fellow dragon slayer in this condition made his blood boil. But before Levy could say a word to Natsu, Makarov silenced the fire dragon and motioned for Levy to follow him so they could talk.

"Mirajane, will you and the others tend to Gajeel so we can move him?" he asked without turning around. Mira complied with the old guild master as he and Levy walked off.

* * *

When he felt it was safe Makarov began to speak. "Levy my dear, I am so glad that you are safe. Gajeel did well getting you out of there...I had only hoped that it would have been easier though," he said judging from the two mages condition.

Levy shook her head, "I'm fine Master, really I am. It's Gajeel I'm worried about" she said sorrowfully as she looked down. "I should have been stronger!" she cried out, shaking as she clapped her hands over her face.

"My dear, I'm sure you were strong" he said as he walked over and placed his hand on her shoulder. "But I must ask...did Ivan find out that he was a double agent?" he asked in a serious tone.

"N-No...Lily said that he nor any other member in Raven Tail know about him but..." she said as she paused for a moment, remembering something PantherLily told her.

"I believe that he was the one that gave Gajeel that wound" she said, crying as her hands shook in her lap. She finally figured out what PantherLily meant by that remark about Ivan. "Gajeel told me not to worry about how he got hurt but...I knew it had to be something like that."

Makarov couldn't believe what he had just heard. Even though his son regarded Gajeel as one of his most trusted members he still ran a sword through him to prove a point. The old master contained his rage for now, "Don't worry Levy, everything will be fine. We're taking the two of you home."


	11. Chapter 11

**So sorry for the long wait. I just didn't have the time or passion to write another chapter for a while but I finally got one done. It's mostly fluff in this chapter and not sure if there will be another one after this...but we'll see.**

_While he slept the iron dragon could hear voices but was unable to respond in any way. He could hear Master Makarov talking to the rest of the guild members that were there, at one point he could hear PantherLily talking to him. Gajeel could also feel his body shaking as he was being moved and a panicking voice saying something about not being able to stop the bleeding followed by cries from Levy calling out his name..._

Gajeel awoke after being in a state of unconsciousness. He slowly opened his eyes as they adjusted to the light around him. He found himself staring at an ordinary white ceiling. He didn't know where he was and couldn't exactly remember how he got here. The last thing he remembered was making a hole in the wall where the secret passage was and then Levy kneeling down next to him as she told him how she fought of some of the Raven Tails all by herself.

Levy...he wondered if she was alright. Where was she? Just how long was he out? He looked around to see that he was in what looked like a hospital room. He felt something on his arm as he raised it up slightly to see an IV running into his arm. "That's right...I was stabbed" he thought to himself as he ran his hand down to his side, feeling the bandages and the patches over the wound where the blade ran through him. He wanted to get mad as he thought of how Ivan stabbed him through his back but found himself too weak to even do that.

The stubborn dragon slayer refused to continue to lie there, not knowing if Levy or his partner was alright. He slowly tried to bring himself up into a sitting position but found something as easy as that to be quite difficult...his arms were weak and he felt a surge of pain coursing through his body coming from the stab wound and the cracked ribs he was unaware that he had.

"...Shit" he mumbled as he winced before finally lying back onto the hospital bed, panting. He never imagined he would be in this kind of condition. But the dragon wasn't ready to admit defeat just yet.

Once again he gathered what strength he could and again tried to raise himself up. This time he managed to prop himself up on one elbow, giving him some kind of support. As he took a deep breath to try and continue the door to his hospital room was pushed open. He looked over towards it but couldn't see anyone enter.

"..Who's there" he said, his voice sounding raspy and dry. It was at that moment that a familiar black cat floated in the air near his bed, staring at him wide eyed.

"Oi...Lily. There you are" he said trying to smirk as he looked at the Exceed who didn't seem too hurt after their mission.

PantherLily's eyes began to tear up as he grinned widely but he quickly composed himself and floated over, landing at the foot of the dragon's bed. "I see that you finally decided to wake up, gi hee" his partner said as he proceeded to walk up closer to the injured dragon.

"Do you know what a pain in the ass it was for us to carry you to the nearest town so we could tend to your wounds?" the Exceed asked as he raised an eyebrow, much like the dragon liked to do so often to him.

Gajeel smirked as his partner egged him on, "Shut your damn mouth, cat" he said as he scratched behind PantherLily's ear. The Exceed had to admit that he did miss the scratching while the dragon was asleep.

"For a minute everyone panicked when they couldn't get your wound to stop bleeding. It had been open for so long and it tore open more while we were trying to get out of Raven Tail's hideout." the Exceed said as he looked down at his feet. "Levy was especially worried..."

"The Shrimp? Where is she?" he asked.

PantherLily looked towards the door, "I thought she was right behind me. We stepped out to get something to eat. She must have gotten caught up by Master Makarov" he said as he played with his whiskers.

"...But she's alright though...right?" Gajeel asked curiously.

PantherLily nodded, "Levy? She's fine...only a few scratches and bruises, nothing major like you show off" the Exceed said as he crossed his arms and looked at the dragon. "Next time we tell you not to push yourself while you're injured you better listen!"  
Gajeel simply rolled his eyes at his partner as he tried to sit up more.

"Gajeel, I don't think you should be doing that" PantherLily said as he reached out to grab hold of his partner's arm. "At least let me put some pillows behind you" he said as he floated over to the empty bed next to the dragon's bed and grabbed the pillows. He placed them behind the dragon, hoping that would help prop him up some.

The dragon leaned back, giving his elbow a rest as he fell onto the stack of pillows that were behind him. He took several deep breaths as he looked at his partner and nodded, but his attention was suddenly turned towards the door as he smelled someone approaching.

* * *

Levy was downstairs grabbing something to eat with PantherLily when they decided to head back up to Gajeel's room. As they reached the staircase they were stopped by the voice of their guild master. "Master!" the both said as the old man greeted them.

"Go on up Lily. I'll be up there soon" she said smiling at the Exceed. PantherLily nodded and made his way up to the dragon's hospital room. The bluenette walked over and took a seat next to Makarov.

"And how are you feeling today, Levy?" he asked with a smile.

"I'm doing fine, Master. Most of my wounds have all healed up" she said cheerfully.

"That's good to hear my dear. And what about Gajeel? Has his condition changed any?" he asked as his smile disappeared and a more serious look on his face appeared.

Levy sighed and looked down at her skirt. "He still hasn't woken up yet..." she said sadly. "The doctor's said they weren't sure how long he could be like this" she said as he tried to fight back the tears that she felt welling up as she talked about the injured dragon. "...He was hurt pretty badly because of me."

Makarov reached out and patted her hand. "There, there Levy. He knew what he was doing and what he had to do to get you out of Raven Tail. I know that he will be alright soon" he said smiling, hoping that would cheer her up some.

Levy nodded at the guild master, "I'll stay strong...for him" she said, trying to smile as she stood. "I'm going to go check on him again."  
The guild master nodded and took his leave. Levy turned, heading back to the staircase and to catch up with PantherLily. She wiped her eyes as she climbed the steps not wanting the Exceed to see her upset.

* * *

"What is it, Gajeel?" PantherLily asked as he turned to the door and then back to his partner. "...I thought I smelled someone approaching" the dragon mumbled as he turned away from the door.

Suddenly the door was pushed open by someone, "Sorry to keep you waiting Lily, I had to talk to-" the script mages said before she cut off her own sentence as she brought her hand up to her mouth. She stood in the doorway and trembled as she saw Gajeel sitting up in bed and awake. The bluenette took a few steps into the room, she wasn't sure if she was dreaming or if this was real. "Ga-Gajeel" she said softly. She could already feel her eyes watering up as she stared at him wide eyed.

"Oi, shrimp" the dragon said in his raspy voice, raising a hand as much as he could. PantherLily was looking at Levy now too, grinning as he nodded his head to let her know that this was no dream.

"Gajeel!" she yelled out as she hurried across the room and through her arms around the dragon's neck. "Gajeel, I'm so happy that you're awake! I was so worried about you, baka Gajeel!" she said, holding onto him as if for dear life.

The dragon slayer flinched a few times as she wrapped her arms around him. "Take it easy shrimp...I'm still not in top condition" he said quietly in her ear as she released her grip on him.

She looked down at his bandaged torso and snapped her head back up to face him. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Gajeel. I-I was just so glad to see you up and moving about that I-" she said as the tears began to flow.

Gajeel chuckled and slowly raised his hand to pat her on the head. "It's alright, Levy. I know you didn't mean any harm" he said grinning at the bluenette. "I'm glad to see that you're alright." The dragon removed his hand from her head and patted his bed, telling her to take a seat next to him.

Levy nodded and carefully sat down on the bed and looked down at him. At least he looked better than when he did after they first brought him in. She smiled down at him as she wiped the tears off her face. "I was so afraid..." she said, trying to hold back the tears.

PantherLily could see the look on the bluenette's face as she continued to force the tears from flowing. He climbed over Gajeel and took a seat in her lap to keep her calm. "We were all worried for a while there" the Exceed said as he looked to his partner.

Gajeel looked at the two with his eyebrow raised up. He had no idea as to what the they were talking about. "What do you mean? What happened?"

PantherLily closed his eyes and looked down. "We took you to the nearest town so we could at least patch you up before we returned to Magnolia" the Exceed started. "MiraJane nor Erza could get the bleeding to stop no matter what they did. Something seemed to be keeping it from healing on its own. You were losing so much blood that by the time we got to a hospital in the next town the doctors were afraid that...well, that you might not make it. They needed to do a blood transfusion and quickly but they didn't seem to have your blood type on hand..." the Exceed said, pausing as the dragon slayer took in all that he was saying.

Gajeel's eyes grew wide as he listened to his partner. He had no idea he was in such a condition. He had been hurt badly many times and each time his wounds managed to stop bleeding. "So...what are you saying? That bastard Ivan had some kind of spell placed on that dagger?! And who did the transfusion?!" he asked curiously, hoping that his partner wouldn't say Natsu.

The Exceed looked up at Levy as she slowly raised her hand. "I did" she said quietly.

"It was like some kind of miracle...she just happened to have your blood type" the black cat said.

Levy blushed as the Exceed was making her sound like she was a hero. "Who would have thought..." she said as she lowered her hand, placing it on the bed.

"As for the dagger, Master thinks that there must have been some kind of magic at work. Master tried a spell Porylusica taught him years ago for dispelling certain types of magic and it seemed to work. The doctors were finally able to stop your bleeding" PantherLily said as Gajeel stared at Levy.

The dragon slayer didn't know what to do, he was completely speechless. He looked down at Levy's hand and slowly moved his own closer to hers as he placed it on top of her hand. "...I suppose I owe you my life, Levy" he said as he looked up at the bluenette.

Levy raised her head as her big brown eyes met his crimson eyes. She felt her face turning red as she smiled gently at him. "I-It was nothing...I'm sure you would have done the same for me." She was more than happy to help Gajeel out as much as she could, after all he did to help her it was the least she could do.

* * *

_Levy felt completely helpless as she watched her friends quickly carry Gajeel all the way to the nearest town. She herself was hurt but her condition was far better than Gajeel's. She didn't know what to do to help him. All she could do was stay by his side. Levy was unable to stop the bleeding no matter how hard she tried...the wound just wouldn't stop bleeding. The bluenette could see that the dragon's face was getting paler by the minute._

_"We have to hurry!" she cried out to everyone. "The bleeding won't stop!" Panic was starting to set in for her and for the Exceed who was trying to help her out. Makarov rushed over to the other side of the dragon and could see for himself that he was getting worse. "You two go as fast as you can to Aromas. We will meet you at the hospital" the old guild master said. He looked up at Levy and could see that she wasn't in the best condition to be running around. She was still pretty weak from everything that happened. "Don't worry my dear, they'll get Gajeel to a hospital" he said, trying to keep her calm._

_Levy looked down at her hands as the ones carrying the unconscious dragon picked up their pace. Her hands were covered with Gajeel's blood. By the time she looked up the group was already out of sight but Levy was determined to not give up. Gajeel never gave up on her nor will she. Despite her own fatigue Levy continued at the brisk pace she was at hoping to catch up to the others soon._

_By the time they reached the hospital in Aromas, Gajeel was already being looked at. She picked up PantherLily and walked back to the room where he was with Makarov. When she got there the doctors were already tending to his wounds but they couldn't seem to stop the bleeding from his stab wound either. The Exceed could hear the whispering going on amongst the doctors. His ears twitched several times as he heard certain things that bothered him._

_"Lily?" Levy asked as she noticed the Exceed's ears twitching. The expression on his face was grim. "Lily what are they saying?" she asked after realizing that he could hear what they were saying._

_"...They're saying they can't get the bleeding under control...he's losing too much blood and..." the Exceed paused for a moment as he lowered his head. "...And that he might not make it."_

_Levy couldn't believe what she was hearing from PantherLily, she wouldn't accept it. "No! He's strong! He can make it through this!" she cried out as tears began to fall onto the Exceed's head._

_Makarov overheard PantherLily and began to suspect that something was amiss with this wound. He knew his son all too well and that he was maniacal enough to try something nasty. The old man walked into the room and over to the dragon slayer on the table. "Stand aside" he said to the doctors who were surprised to see the guild master as he raised his hand and spoke a few strange words. _

_The doctor's watched as the guild master did something to the wound. Much to their surprise they could see the blood was flowing out of him less and less. They were in shock as to what just happened but they began to treat his wound thanks to Makarov's help. _

_Makarov walked back over to Levy and stood next to her as she looked down at him wondering what he did to Gajeel. Several minutes later one of the doctor s turned around and nodded, "We finally managed to stop the bleeding...but he did loss far too much blood. We need to do a transfusion and fast if he's going to survive."_

* * *

"That's pretty much how it happened" the Exceed said after he finished explaining to Gajeel what happened in detail. He looked at his partner who was staring intensely at Levy. He had never had anyone do so much for him before. Without saying a word her grabbed hold of her hand and pulled the bluenette down to him as PantherLily hopped out of her lap. Gajeel pulled Levy down and kissed her, but not just any kiss. Gajeel put everything he had into this exceptionally deep kiss...his feelings, his gratitude, his tenderness and his love towards the bluenette.

When they finally broke away from their long kiss Levy could feel her eyes water up. She knew then and there that Gajeel was definitely the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Despite their rocky beginning she had come to truly love the dragon slayer for the man he was now.

"I love you, Gajeel Redfox" she said as she lifted her legs onto the bed and rested her head next to his. Levy laid their next to the dragon on his bed and closed her eyes. Her hand found a lock of his hair and began twirling it between her fingers playfully, something she had always wanted to do for some reason.

Gajeel smiled and rested his head next to hers. "I love you too, Levy" he said in his temporary raspy voice ans closed his eyes.

PantherLily smiled at the two mages and took his place on the other side of the dragon. The Exceed laid down next to his partner, stretched and then closed his eyes. Gajeel felt the Exceed next to his hand as he raised it and scratched behind his partner's ear, something that PantherLily hated to admit he liked when in fact he loved it.

The three laid there on the bed as sleep began to take them over. Outside Gajeel's hospital room stood Master Makarov, who overheard the whole conversation between the dragon slayer and the bookworm. He smiled and quietly walked away knowing that all his children were now safe and in good hands.


End file.
